New Delhi, May 20: The Supreme Court has imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh each on Whatsapp, Google, YouTube, Facebook India, Facebook Ireland, Microsoft and other internet giants for not submitting an affidavit on the steps which could be taken to curb the circulation of child porn, rape and other offensive videos on social media.

The bench, comprising of Justices Madan B Lokur and Uday Umesh Lalit had ordered the above companies on April 16 to submit an affidavit detailing the steps to be taken for curbing the circulation of child pornography and violent sex videos.

While hearing the case on Friday, none of the parties appeared with the affidavit before the bench. Irked by the companies' lackadaisical attitude, the bench ordered them to submit a fine of Rs 1 lakh, along with the affidavit in the next hearing of the case.

"The registry will accept affidavits filed by these entities along with cost of Rs 1 lakh each which will be kept in a fixed deposit for a short-term period immediately upon receipt," the bench was quoted as saying.

The petition against the circulation of child porn on social media was filed by NGO 'Prajwala'. The matter was first taken up for hearing by the Chief Justice of India. The apex court had also appointed veteran advocate Aparna Bhat as amicus curiae.

Appearing in the court on behalf of the Centre, additional solicitor general Maninder Singh filed a status report detailing the steps taken by the government to curb the menace.

Singh said the beta version of an online cyber crime reporting portal has been prepared, which would be fully functional shortly. All complaints registered on the portal will be linked cyber police units in every state for prompt action, he claimed.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 20, 2018 10:36 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).