Supreme Court directs government to finalize SOP for curbing online child sexual abuse content

On Thursday, the Supreme Court agreed to issue directives compelling the Centre and other stakeholders to adopt preventive steps against online child sexual exploitative and abuse material (CSEAM). The bench acted after the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology submitted a draft standard operating procedure outlining obligations for intermediaries to prevent, remove, and report CSEAM to the government portal Sahyog.

The SOP was prepared with input from the ministries of Women and Child Development, Home Affairs, and the Department of Telecommunications. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta emphasized the government's seriousness but requested additional time to finalize the document. The Court set a one-month deadline for further developments and noted prior actions, such as a July 2026 notice to Meta’s compliance officer over paid advertisements promoting CSEAM. The proceedings stem from a petition by Just Rights for Children Alliance seeking a uniform reporting mechanism and stricter enforcement of the 2024 judgment under the Pocso Act.