Government Ups the ante against Child Pornography

The government is taking concrete steps to curb child pornography by making necessary amendments to the POCSO Act.

Amendments Proposed

• The amendment bill provides for a new definition POCSO Act. The bill defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a child which include photographs, video, digital or computer-generated image indistinguishable from an actual child and an image created, adapted or modified but appear to depict a child.
• The amendment also aims to expand the ambit to include pornographic content where adults or young adults pretend to be children.
• The bill aims to enhance the fine for possessing child porn but not deleting or reporting it to Rs 5,000 from the earlier proposal of Rs 1,000.
• Further if a person stores such content for distributing it further, except for when presenting it in court as evidence, the accused could face a punishment of up to three years.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development is advocating a policy of zero tolerance for child pornography. Hence the ministry has proposed a definition for setting the context of the crime since prescribing only punishment leads to the possibility that the case may get entangled in inconclusive legal battles.