Why in News?

• A parliamentary panel has recently recommended a code of conduct for Internet service providers (ISPs) and strengthening the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to curb child pornography.

What is Child Pornography?

• Child pornography is publishing and transmitting obscene material of children in electronic form.
• In recent years child pornography has increased due to the easy access of the internet and easily available videos on the internet.
• Child pornography is the most heinous crime which occurs and has led to various other crimes such as sex tourism, sexual abuse of the child, etc.

What is the problem in curbing Child Pornography?

• Making laws is not the same as enforcing them. While sufficient anti-child pornography laws exist in many nations, enforcement is weak.
• Furthermore, policing a global operation like the Internet involves policing citizens from countries with widely differing domestic laws, cultures and social mores.
• Although these obstacles appear insurmountable, it must be remembered that child pornography is a substantive and compelling problem on international, national, and local levels, and it is not a harmless crime.

What measures are taken by Indian Government?

• India had blocked more than 800 pornographic websites in 2015 because of the concerns about child pornography.
• This particular decision was taken under the Information Technology Act and in consonance with Article 19(2) of the Constitution of India that allows the government to impose restrictions on the grounds of decency and morality.
• However, this complete ban was later lifted and only implemented to those websites containing child porn.
• Recently, again the Department of Telecom has banned around 800 sites due to illegal content on websites.

What are key recommendations of the Panel?

• Put in place a multi-pronged strategy involving technological, institutional, social and educational as well as State-level measures.
• There is a need for code of conduct or a set of guidelines for ensuring child safety online.