Rajya Sabha panel suggests breaking encryption to trace distributors of child sexual abuse content

The Rajya Sabha panel studying the problem of child sexual abuse material on social media has recommended multiple changes to the Information Technology Act and its intermediary rules, including allowing law enforcement agencies to break encryption to trace people distributing such material.

The report, submitted on Saturday by a panel headed by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, comes at a time when the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) is in the final leg of notifying amendments to the intermediary guidelines of the IT Act to curb misinformation on social media. The RS panel report may further delay the notification by the government if MeitY chooses to incorporate some of the recommendations.