look news india
Amid the rapidly increasing spread of the Internet and social media, the digital safety of teenagers and children has become a very serious and sensitive concern all over the world. Meta, the company that operates giant services like Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has now made its global fight against child sexual exploitation and online abuse of children more aggressive. The company has deployed several state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning tools to root out objectionable and exploitative activities related to children on the platforms. These advanced algorithms not only identify content already uploaded, but also identify suspicious activities, unwanted messages and patterns and stop them before they reach users. This step of Meta towards making the digital space safe is being considered as a strong initiative at the global level.
To ensure child safety in a huge digital market like India, Meta has strictly implemented its safety standards. According to the monthly compliance report released by the company, decisive action has been taken against a total of more than 53 lakh posts, videos and accounts in cases of child sexual abuse (CSAM), obscene content, inappropriate conversations and online solicitation in India. The most surprising and positive fact in this entire exercise was that out of these 53 lakh cases, about 98 percent of the posts were detected and removed proactively in real-time by Meta’s state-of-the-art AI system itself, without any complaint or report from any external user. This simply means that the system removes the hateful content from the platform even before a person sees it or reports it, thereby protecting the privacy and dignity of children from being harmed.
These new AI tools created by Meta go beyond traditional keyword filters. These tools are based on a combination of computer vision, deep learning, and behavioral pattern analysis. If an unknown adult user tries to send suspicious persistent direct messages (DM), follow up, or initiate private conversations on the profile of a minor user, the system automatically triggers a warning and immediately bans such accounts. Additionally, Meta has also integrated global initiatives like ‘Take It Down’ with its AI. This tool creates a unique digital fingerprint (Hash) for any private photo or video available on the Internet. After this, even if a user tries to upload that content again, the AI blocks that content as soon as it is uploaded through hash matching.
Along with AI algorithms, Meta has also implemented a strict security framework for ‘Teen Accounts’ for children on Instagram and Facebook. Under this, the accounts of all new and existing users under 18 years of age have been kept on private settings by default. According to the new rules, now no adult user can send a direct message to a minor whom the minor does not already follow. Plus, Sleep Mode automatically activates between 10 PM and 7 AM, turning off notifications and reminding kids to get into the habit of going to sleep on time. Parents are also provided with special supervision tools to monitor their children’s screen time, their chat lists and the accounts they report.
This step of Meta is not limited to just removing posts from the platform, but a strong mechanism has also been created to put digital criminals behind bars. Meta clarified that whenever serious evidence of child exploitation is found on an account, the company reports that data to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). After this, this information is shared with Indian investigating agencies, state police and cyber crime cell, so that legal action can be taken against the criminals under strict sections of POCSO Act and IT Act. With this twin attack of technical security and legal support, elements with ill intentions are now being completely cracked down on social media, making India’s internet landscape more secure and trustworthy for the new generation.