Overview
- A Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court dismissed a petition in an order dated June 19 that refused to overturn Meta’s permanent suspension of an Instagram account for sending nude material to a minor.
- The judges said online child sexual exploitation is rising and has become one of the most serious cyber-enabled crimes that can cause irreversible harm to children.
- The court endorsed Meta’s zero-tolerance approach and found the company’s permanent-suspension policy permissible even for a single severe breach of its Community Standards.
- The petitioner had first sought relief from the Grievance Appellate Committee under the IT Intermediary Rules and received no remedy before approaching the High Court.
- The ruling affirms that platforms may remove offending content, permanently disable accounts involved in child-exploitation violations, and report cases to competent law enforcement, a stance that could guide future challenges to severe moderation decisions.