New Delhi: The Delhi Police has lodged a first information report (FIR) over the alleged circulation of child sexual abuse material on social media platforms owned by Meta, including Facebook and Instagram.The FIR, which was registered on October 8, has been filed under sections 67 – publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form – and 67B – publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form of the Information Technology Act, 2000.Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) additional commissioner of police (CP) Sanjay Bhatia told The Hindu that around 10 links had been flagged in a complaint alleging the sharing of such content. The police is currently investigating the allegations.Priyank Kanoongo, a member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), wrote on X, “Acting on our directions, Delhi Police has registered an FIR regarding the availability of Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material (CSEAM) on platforms operated by @MetaIndia.” UPDATE!Acting on our directions, Delhi Police has registered an FIR regarding the availability of Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material (CSEAM) on platforms operated by @MetaIndia.हमारे निर्देशों पर कार्रवाई करते हुए, दिल्ली पुलिस ने @MetaIndia द्वारा संचालित प्लेटफॉर्म्स पर बाल यौन शोषण एवं दुर्व्यवहार संबंधी सामग्री (CSEAM) की उपलब्धता के मामले में FIR दर्ज की है।— प्रियंक कानूनगो Priyank Kanoongo (@KanoongoPriyank) November 4, 2026Simultaneously, the Indian Express has reported that the IT Ministry is holding discussions on overhauling the country’s social media regulatory framework. This includes a proposal to withdraw the legal immunity granted to social media platform for objectionable content posted by users.This decision could have far-reaching implications on the way social media companies operate in India. Importantly, the government is considering ending “safe harbour” for platforms, a legal protection that shields internet intermediaries from blame over third-party content.According to the Express report, two senior officials have claimed that deliberations are being held on limiting the safe harbour protection to “services that transmit or carry information, such as internet service providers (ISPs), telecom service providers (TSPs) and peer-to-peer messaging platforms, rather than social media companies that actively determine what content users see.”The government’s contention over extending this blanket protection to social media platforms stems from the heightened role individualised algorithms play these days in determining what content is more visible that others. Thus, their ability to recommend and amplify content, it says, should extend to exercising editorial caution over content that blatantly violates Indian laws.“Intermediaries were supposed to be simply carriers of content, and safe harbour in that sense made sense. When you receive a message from someone, the platform’s only responsibility is to carry that message and deliver it to you without making any changes to it. But with social media platforms deploying complex algorithms to boost engagement and virality, the boundaries have been blurred. They definitely determine what gets shown to users, and are no longer simple carriers of content,” a senior government official has been quoted as saying.No decision has been made as of yet.While the move can increase accountability over the circulation of illegal content on social media platforms, it can also increase surveillance and censorship against content that is critical of the incumbent government.