POCSO Act and Online Sexual Exploitation

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, or POCSO Act, protects every person below 18 years from sexual assault, sexual harassment and use for pornography. Its technology-neutral provisions cover specified conduct committed through the internet, social media, messaging services and other electronic or digital means.

Digital conduct covered

POCSO applies when online conduct satisfies the ingredients of sexual harassment or pornographic exploitation.

• Under Section 11, sexual harassment includes repeatedly contacting a child through electronic or digital means with sexual intent, displaying an object in any media for pornographic purposes, and threatening to circulate a real or fabricated sexual depiction involving the child.
• Sections 13-14 criminalise using a child in any form of media, including the internet or another electronic form, for pornographic purposes.
• Section 15 penalises specified forms of storage or possession of pornographic material involving a child, including possession intended for transmission, distribution, display or commercial use.
• The definition includes photographs, videos and specified digital or computer-generated images depicting a child in sexually explicit conduct.

Mandatory reporting duty

Under Section 19, every person, including an individual who apprehends that a POCSO offence is likely to be committed or knows that one has been committed, must provide that information to the Special Juvenile Police Unit or local police. The duty therefore does not depend on the person being the victim, parent or eyewitness.

• The report must be recorded in writing, given an entry number, read over to the informant and recorded in a language the informant understands.
• The POCSO Rules, 2020 permit online pornographic material involving a child, or information about its circulation or storage, to be reported to the police or the designated cybercrime portal.
• Failure to report or record an offence is punishable under Section 21, but a child cannot be punished for failure to report.
• A person providing information in good faith incurs no civil or criminal liability for doing so.

Child-centred enforcement and legal interface

Investigation and trial follow child-friendly procedures, including sensitive statement recording, protection from contact with the accused, confidentiality of identity and an in-camera trial before a Special Court. POCSO establishes liability for sexual exploitation, while intermediary due diligence, blocking and removal of unlawful online content are additionally governed by the Information Technology Act, 2000 and rules made under it.