New Delhi, Nov 11 (NationPress) The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has introduced a Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) aimed at enhancing the frameworks for the swift removal and prevention of Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery (NCII) on digital platforms.

This initiative aligns with the directives from the Madras High Court and seeks to establish clear, victim-focused protocols for the rapid elimination of such offensive content, ensuring compliance with Rule 3(2)(b) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

The ministry states that intermediaries must act to remove or restrict access to reported NCII content within a 24-hour timeframe upon receiving a complaint.

Victims can report incidents via various channels, including One Stop Centres (OSCs), in-app reporting systems of intermediaries, the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), or directly to law enforcement.

OSCs will support victims in lodging complaints through the NCRP, alongside providing legal aid and psychological counselling. The NCRP is accessible online or through the helpline number 1930.

All intermediaries, including Significant Social Media Intermediaries (SSMIs), are mandated to utilize hash-matching and crawler technologies to avoid the resurgence of identical or similar NCII content.

They are also obliged to report their actions and collaborate with governmental portals like Sahyog, operated under the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The SoP outlines the responsibilities of various governmental entities to guarantee effective enforcement. The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre will serve as the primary aggregator for NCII complaints and maintain a secure NCII hash bank, while the Department of Telecommunications will liaise with Internet Service Providers to block reported URLs.

MeitY will oversee compliance and ensure collaboration among intermediaries and other relevant parties.

The government emphasized that this SoP represents a pivotal advancement towards empowering individuals, especially women, to regain control over their online identities.

It intends to foster a safer digital environment by enabling prompt grievance redressal, safeguarding privacy and dignity, while reinforcing accountability across online platforms.