Curbing digital sexual abuse, regulation and shutting down apps that threaten safety of children has emerged a major problem of India. With brutalised and shattered children, nation’s future is endangered. With the Union Cabinet having decided to amend the Prevention of Child Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) to make its provisions stringent to curb rising sex abuse of children, it is expected child sex abuse that includes child pornography will be addressed considerably.
Proposed amendment of POCSO Act intends to provide imprisonment of not less than five years with fine, for second conviction seven years jail and fine for using child for pornographic purposes, jail term not less than three years that may extend to five years for second time extend to seven years for using child pornography for commercial use, fine of Rs. 1000 and Rs. 5000 if found guilty second time for possessing any child pornography, and transmitting, propagating, distributing child pornography punishable with imprisonment for three years. For common child sex abuse punishment has been made most deterrant that includes enhanced imprisonment for life and even death.
Recent past has witnessed exponential growth in short video mobile apps because of their simple-to-navigate interface and their free availability on Google Play Stores/Apple Stores. Such apps threaten the safety of children as they are easily accessible and emerging as a new breeding ground for grooming underage children for child pornography. According to the United Nations INTERPOL, 2.4 million instances of online child sex abuse were reported from India in 2017. US based Centre for Missing and Exploited Children has also reported over 24.46 lakh children were abused in 2017 in India. These are just the reported cases. There could be more such cases that go unreported.
Such apps from language and vernacular entertainment are available in the States, where the abusers contact children using these vernaculat languages. With easy availability of internet and budget smart phones, there has been a surge in child sexual abuse, harassment, bullying and blackmail where perpetrators find their victims on available video taps.
Remedial measures to check growing menace of child sex abuse may include creation of an institutional framework to monitor and regulate online content falling in the category of digital exploitation of children. Such body may consist of representatives from Ministries of Home Affairs, Women and Child Development and Information Technology, to arrive at a technology based solution to the menace of growing digital child sex abuse.
In addition, all stakeholders should initiate extensive consultations on social awareness programmes with a well crafted role for each group that may include Internet Service Providers (ISPs), the police, parents, schools and social workers. Besides, a review to amend the Information Technology Act, 2000 be undertaken to provide deterrent penalties to the intermediaries (online platforms) who facilitate such content and strengthen legal framework that may also include Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act.
Such mobile apps which do not curate or filter inappropriate content involving children may have to be shut. In this connection, intermediaries like Google and Apple may have to be directed to take strict measures to remove/ban such apps from Google Play Stores/Apple Stores, which allow exchange of child pornographic images/videos that enable paedophiles to groom the children. A regulatory legal framework be constituted for intermediaries for mobile apps to make viewing and sharing of sexually explicit images/videos of children a punishable offence. At the same time POCSO Act. 2012 may be amended to make digital child abuse punishable.
Chidren constitute 45 per cent of India’s population. Onus is on all of us to ensure that our children get safe and happy childhood. So far, the NDA Union Government has taken no effective steps to stem the rot. Internet, if not regulated and monitored, can emerge biggest worrying for parents deeply concerned for the safety of their children. Government should also involve people, parents, schools, legal experts and social scientists to ensure that digital India is also a nation free of sexual exploitation of children and child pornography!