Facebook, Google and the like are blocking keywords related to child pornography

The custodians of the web, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! have now started blocking child porn and sexual violence related keywords on their platforms. This is in compliance with a Supreme Court order on the same. Search results for such keywords are now redirected to a page that warns the user that the content they’re searching for is illegal and violative of company policy. Since the ban only targets specific keywords, it’s not entirely effective, but it is certainly a good place to start. According to a report in The Economic Times, WhatsApp too is taking steps to curb the spread of child pornography. ET reports that the keywords haven’t been made public to make it harder to find workarounds. The SC ruling came in response to a petition filed by a non-profit organisation called Prajwala, a non-profit organisation, in 2015. Social media sites were also asked to prevent the upload of such harmful content, but Google, Facebook and the like stated that they did not have the technology to prevent uploads. The banning of keywords will, to some extent, make such content harder to discover. [caption id=“attachment_5772971” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] Keywords related to child pornography and sexual violence are now being blocked on Facebook, Google and related sites.[/caption]