‘Don’t disclose identities of child victims on social media platforms’

Srinagar, Mar 22: The Child Welfare Committee (CWC) Srinagar has taken a strong action against Facebook pages for disclosing the identities of child victims on social media platforms.

Revealing the identity of children is strictly prohibited under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

Section 74 of the Act explicitly prohibits the publication of any information that could lead to the identification of such children.

According to the official communique, CWC has asked the media fraternity and all social media handlers to exercise caution and refrain from disclosing the identity of any children.

CWC has ordered the presence of the social media handlers along with official press credentials, before the Committee on March 23, at 12:00 PM.

The Committee has also asked these admins to remove the posts disclosing the child's identity from all social media handles as it is an offense against children.

The chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee, Dr. Khair ul Nissa, expressed deep concern over the adverse consequences faced by the victims. "These actions could subject these children to severe mental trauma and social stigma, potentially destroying their futures," Nissa told Greater Kashmir.

She said that some admins of Facebook pages visit orphanages and disclose the identity of children which is an offence.

"Revealing the identity of children is strictly prohibited under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. Section 74 of the Act explicitly prohibits the publication of any information that could lead to the identification of such children," she said.

She said that the committee already warned these social media handlers before, but now we will take strict legal action against them.

"The Child Welfare Committee and Juvenile Justice Board are the statutory bodies who give permission for revealing the identity of children, only if there is a need," she said.

"This includes their name, address, school, or any other detail that could reveal their identity. Violation of these provisions is considered an offense, punishable by imprisonment, fine, or both," she said.

As per the order, these actions not only violate the law but also jeopardize the well-being and safety of vulnerable children. “CWC warns that it will not hesitate to initiate legal action against any individual or organisation found guilty of such offenses, “the order reads.