Google Expands Cooperation With India on Reporting Online Child Abuse Content

Google is set to report content flagged as child sexual abuse material (CSAM) directly to Indian authorities, following a similar move by Meta as the government pushes technology companies to speed up the reporting of suspected child exploitation.

The change marks a departure from the long-standing practice followed by major technology platforms of routing such reports through the US-based National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), which then shares them with law enforcement agencies in relevant countries.

A Google spokesperson said the company invests significantly in detecting, preventing, removing and reporting child sexual abuse material. The spokesperson described the latest move as part of Google’s “ongoing discussions with the government of India.”

Meta announced a similar change last week after discussions with Indian officials, who had raised concerns that the existing reporting mechanism could delay the transmission of information to domestic law enforcement agencies.

Under the earlier system, Meta and Alphabet-owned Google would send reports of suspected CSAM to NCMEC, which operates the CyberTipline and subsequently relays relevant reports to law enforcement authorities.

The shift towards direct reporting is aimed at reducing the time taken for information about suspected child exploitation to reach Indian authorities, particularly in cases where immediate intervention may be required.

NCMEC’s CyberTipline recorded nearly 21.3 million reports globally in 2025 relating to suspected child sexual exploitation, highlighting the scale of the challenge facing technology platforms and law enforcement agencies.

India is the largest market by user count for both Meta’s Facebook and Google’s YouTube, making cooperation between technology companies and Indian authorities significant for online child-safety enforcement.

Meta’s policy change followed weeks of engagement with the Indian government, including an apology from CEO Mark Zuckerberg last month over the spread of child sexual abuse material on the company’s platforms.

Technology and law enforcement officials in the United States, the European Union and other jurisdictions have also called on online platforms to strengthen their systems for detecting and reporting suspected child exploitation. However, the US nonprofit continues to serve as the principal international clearing house for such reports in many countries.

The latest development also comes amid wider regulatory scrutiny of online platforms in India.

In July, the Central government directed Google to take down multiple Firebase web-development accounts that were allegedly impersonating the websites and mobile applications of major public- and private-sector banks and other financial institutions.

The move towards direct reporting of CSAM by major technology platforms could further strengthen coordination between online services and Indian law enforcement agencies in addressing child-safety risks.