Child porn shared freely on WhatsApp, Telegram: Study

The study, conducted during June-July when the lockdown curbs were in place, selected openly available links to join different WhatsApp groups with pornographic nature. Out of 1,299 groups, 29 were randomly selected for an in-depth study over a period of 48 days, during which the researchers came across 100 instances of child pornography material being shared in 15 groups.

The study found the CSAM materials were shared as part of bulk messages along with other content and the requests for the same were made with colloquial references such as cp (child pornography), and kids videos (in Hindi).

Similarly, on Telegram, 350 pornography channels were identified and 283 channels were studied in-depth for six weeks, and researchers came across 23 instances of CSAM material being shared.

Soliciting demand for CSAM by sharing a blurred picture depicting a minor involved in a sexual act with the link to a user account or both across a large number of Telegram channels is the standard modus operandi of perpetrators to circulate child pornography material. The distributor accepts payments over PayPal, PhonePe, or in the form of cryptocurrency.

According to the Cyber Peace Foundation, WhatsApp did not deactivate the groups and merely blocked a few members even after they were reported with screenshots of the conversations.

“The technical limitation to view E2EE content leads to failure in action despite the maximum possible escalation,” says the study.

However, since Telegram is not end-to-end encrypted and can be reported, more than 85 per cent of the channels reported were removed. But Telegram did not delete channels with two lakh or more followers, no matter how many times they were reported. Also, private conversations are end-to-end encrypted and cannot be reported.

Though online transmission of CSAM and rape videos can be reported on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (cybercrime.gov.in), practical complications make the process redundant, says the study. “A standard operating procedure in handling such cases by the government and the mandatory report-CSAM button and a user-to-platform and platform-to-regulator reporting channel need to be implemented by the social media platforms. These, among other measures, would make a difference,” says Nitish, Manager (Technology), Law and Policy Research Group.