New Delhi: The Indian government on Thursday suggested considering amendments in the IT Act, 2000 in a bid to curb the spread of child pornography and fake news. The new amendments are expected to arm the government with more powers to pull down apps and sites which promotes such controversial content.

The government took the decision after Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar wrote a letter to law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad expressing concern regarding the threats posed by the growing digital sexual abuse of children online.

As per media reports, the move is at the proposal stage right now and will be formalised soon.

Chandrasekhar in his letter said, “As you are aware, I am a vocal advocate of the benefits of digital India and the increasing use of technology in governance and democracy. However, we should be aware there are ugly and negative uses of the internet that government and regulators should be proactive about.”

He has named apps like Kwai, Clip, TikTok, NewsDog, LiveMe and Helo for threatening the safety of children.

The Rajya Sabha MP has also shared some of his recommendations which can help the government to bring the situation under control.

He urged the government to create a permanent institutional framework to monitor and regulate online content, which falls under the category of digital exploitation of children. He also asked the authorities to immediately initiate extensive consultations and awareness programmes.

Here are some of his other suggestions