NCPCR Summons YouTube India Executive Over Indecent Content Involving Mother & Sons

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has summoned YouTube’s head of public policy and government affairs, Mira Chatt, next week over purported portrayal of potentially indecent acts involving mothers and sons on the platform.

In a letter dated January 10, Priyank Kanoongo, the head of NCPCR, has requested Chatt to be physically present at the statutory body’s office.

Failure to comply with the commission’s request may result in penalties or other appropriate legal actions against YouTube India, as reported by PTI.

The child rights body expressed concern about an alarming trend on YouTube channels, where potentially indecent acts involving mothers and sons are being portrayed.

“This raises serious concerns about the potential harm it could inflict on the child’s well-being and safety. Further, these videos have viewership, including minors, which also raises significant concerns,” the NCPCR said.

The NCPCR has requested the YouTube official to provide a comprehensive list of all channels featuring content of this nature, along with details about the channels running such content.

In an official letter addressed to Chatt, NCPCR chief Kanoongo highlighted the commission’s concern regarding ‘challenge videos’ on YouTube, which reportedly depict inappropriate interactions, including kisses, between mothers and adolescent sons. 

Kanoongo said that these videos violate the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.

NCPCR is a statutory government body tasked with the protection of child rights and other matters in the country.

The development comes at a time when The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued notices in October to multiple social media platforms, including X (formerly Twitter), Telegram, and YouTube, directing them to remove child sexual abuse material (CSAM) from their websites. 

The ministry warned that failure to comply with the order would result in strict action, including the withdrawal of safe harbour protections.

Responding to this, YouTube has said that it has so far not detected any CSAM on the platform despite multiple and thorough probes.

“We have a long history of successfully fighting child exploitation on YouTube. Based on multiple thorough investigations, we did not detect CSAM on our platform, nor did we receive examples or evidence of CSAM on YouTube from regulators,” a YouTube spokesperson said at the time.

The streaming giant also said that no form of content that ‘endangers minors’ is allowed on YouTube. 

Note: We at Inc42 take our ethics very seriously. More information about it can be found here.