The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a new advisory to safeguard children’s rights by restricting the production, distribution, and consumption of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) on the internet. The human rights body has also recommended that the phrase ‘child pornography’ in the POCSO Act should be replaced with Child Se*ual Abuse Material (CSAM).
The rights panel stated in the advisory that the term "s*xually explicit" needs to be defined under Section 67B of the IT Act, 2000, to ensure the identification and removal of the online CSAM.
“Terms like ‘use of children in pornographic performances and materials’, ‘child se*ual abuse material’ and ‘child s*xual exploitation material’ to be preferred over ‘Child Pornography’”, the advisory by human rights body read.
The Advisory for Protection of the Rights of Children against Production, Distribution and Consumption of Child S*xual Abuse Material (CSAM) has been sent to all the states and Union Territories, and NHRC sought an action report in two months, as reported by news agency PTI.
The four-part advisory released by the NHRC on Friday intends to address the legal gaps in laws concerning CSAM. In addition to making recommendations for regulating internet websites to monitor and block CSAM content online, the advisory also offers suggestions to provide training to officials, offering support to the survivors of sexual abuse.
The rights panel also recommended that the national database on s*x offenders should be expanded to include CSAM offenders convicted under the IT Act and Pocso Act.
”It should consist of experts in identification and investigation of CSAM in order to focus on identifying and apprehending CSAM offenders both in dark web and open web and developing a comprehensive and coordinated response of investigation and law,” the advisory read.
It also mentioned that the current sentence for offences involving online CSAM under Section 14 of the POCSO Act and Section 67B of the IT Act (seven years or less) "may be relooked or exempt the application of Section 41A CrPC by making appropriate legislative changes.”