Google has agreed to report content flagged as child sexual abuse material directly to Indian authorities, Reuters reported on September 21, marking a change from a longstanding process under which reports were first routed through a U.S.-based nonprofit.
A Google spokesperson said the company invests significantly in detecting, deterring, removing and reporting child sexual abuse material and described the direct-reporting proposal as part of continuing discussions with the Indian government.
For years, Google and other major platforms have sent suspected child-exploitation reports to the U.S.-based National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which then forwards relevant information to law-enforcement authorities in the country concerned. Two Indian government sources told Reuters that officials had pressed technology companies to report India-related cases directly because they believed the intermediary process could delay action where a child might be in immediate danger.
Meta announced a similar shift last week. Reuters reported that Indian officials had also raised the issue with other technology companies.
The change concerns the reporting route for suspected illegal material; it does not alter the need for authorities to investigate individual reports and establish the facts of each case.