Mumbai, November 15: Telegram, PayTM and PhonePe are in trouble as Sunitha Krishnan, a child rights activist from Hyderabad, filed a complaint against the messaging and digital payment apps over alleged use of child sex abuse material (CSAM). Krishnan accuses these apps of facilitating the trade of child sexual abuse material and creating an environment that enables child abuse.

As per the NDTV report, Krishnan urged the major online platforms to be accountable for the CSAM transactions happening on their networks. She asked what measures they had implemented to stop the dissemination and trade of sexually abusive material involving minors, such as adult photos. She also accused the tech platforms of “deliberately and knowingly” facilitating the proliferation of CSAM and demanded that they “recognise the source and method of their income”. Child Sexual Abuse Material: YouTube, Telegram Respond to IT Ministry’s Notice on CSAM.

Case Against Telegram, PayTM and PhonePe Over Child Sex Abuse Content

Krishnan investigated the circulation of CSAM on Telegram, a messaging app with encryption and self-destruct features. She joined a group with 31,000 members and contacted three sellers who accepted payments via Paytm or PhonePe. She received CSAM links that showed sexual abuse of children, some of whom were also sellers. She also discovered groups with up to 40,000 members who traded CSAM through private channels. Narendra Modi Government Issues Notices to X, YouTube and Telegram to Remove Child Sexual Abuse Material.

Krishnan said that Telegram did not display any warning pop-up about the illegality of spreading and not reporting child sexual abuse material, which could lead to prosecution under the POCSO Act. She claimed that Telegram was thus enabling the trade of CSAM. Neither Paytm, PhonePe, nor Telegram have responded so far. As per the report, Krishnan has complained to Telangana DGP Anjani Kumar and intends to contact the Union Home Ministry.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 15, 2023 08:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).