Blueprint for Safeguarding Children

Context: A recent Supreme Court ruling redefines the viewing and downloading of child pornography as a serious crime, rather than an adult indulgence.

 

Supreme Court Judgment on Child Exploitation

• Madras High Court Ruling (Jan 2024): Initially ruled that merely downloading/watching child pornography is not a crime, risking the normalization of child exploitation.
• Supreme Court Ruling (Sept 2024): Overturned the Madras ruling, making the downloading/storage of Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material (CSEAM) a crime, placing responsibility on social media intermediaries to comply with Indian law.
• Reframing the Issue: Changed terminology from “child porn” to “CSEAM,” emphasizing that individuals consuming such content fuel child exploitation, creating a demand-supply chain that perpetuates abuse.

 

Measures Required for Child Safety

• Comprehensive Framework: The government must implement a holistic framework addressing both offenders and child victims, providing necessary support for rehabilitation.
• Preventive & Protective Measures: A globally coordinated system is needed to address the evolving nature of child exploitation, including AI-generated content.

 

Steps to Combat CSEAM

1. Defining Cybercrime: Indian laws should classify CSEAM as cybercrime and an organized economic offense.
2. Addressing New Crimes: Crimes like online enticement and digital trafficking should be outlawed.
3. AI-Generated Content: Legal amendments are needed to treat AI-generated child abuse material on par with real child abuse.
4. Social Media Accountability: Platforms must report CSEAM content in real-time to law enforcement.
5. Forensic Lab: India should establish a domestic forensic lab to expedite response times in handling CSEAM reports.
6. Sexual Offender Database: Individuals caught with CSEAM should be entered into the National Database on Sexual Offenders and barred from working with children.

 

The Need for a Borderless Response

• International Cooperation: CSEAM is a global issue requiring unified international action and a legally binding convention.
• Global Database: An International Database of Sex Offenders could help track offenders across borders.
• Financial Institutions: Banks and financial entities must track and disrupt funding supporting child exploitation networks.
• International Convention: A global, legally binding agreement is crucial for a coordinated response to child exploitation.

 

Conclusion

The Supreme Court ruling offers a landmark opportunity to protect children from exploitation. By implementing these measures, India could set a strong global example in combating child abuse, creating a safer future for vulnerable children.

 

 

 

 

 

Ensuring Social Security for Gig Workers

Context:
Defining the employment relationship in gig work is crucial for ensuring social safety and protection under labour laws.

 

Introduction

• New law in progress: The Union Ministry of Labour and Employment is drafting a law to integrate gig workers into social security schemes.
• Aggregator contribution: Aggregators may be required to contribute 1%-2% of their revenue to a social security fund for health insurance and retirement savings.
• Inclusive definitions: Government is revising definitions of gig and migrant workers for better inclusion.

 

Overview of Proposed Legislation

• Worker registration: All gig workers must register, and aggregators must provide valid reasons before terminating workers.
• Dispute resolution: Mechanisms will be introduced to protect gig workers’ rights.
• Aggregator’s role: Aggregator companies must lead in registering gig workers on the Labour Ministry’s e-Shram portal.
• e-Shram benefits: Workers registered here are eligible for life and accidental insurance.

 

Labour Codes and Gig Worker

• New labour codes (2019-2020): Four codes — wage, social security, industrial relations, and occupational safety and health.
• Inclusion under Social Security Code 2020: Gig workers are classified as a subset of informal workers.
• Registration on e-Shram: Like informal workers, gig workers must register through self-declaration.

 

Definition of Gig Workers and Employment Relation

• Issue in definition: Gig workers are placed outside the traditional employer-employee relationship in the Social Security Code 2020.
• Aggregator strategy: Aggregators often avoid formal employment relations, categorizing workers as independent contractors.
• Misconception: This leads to a misunderstanding of gig workers’ status, affecting their rights and benefits.

 

Social Security Coverage Gap

• Differences in entitlement: Formal workers receive 26 weeks of paid maternity leave, while gig workers get minimal cash benefits under social security schemes.
• Lack of institutional protection: Gig workers don’t receive benefits like minimum wage protection, safety standards, or dispute resolution mechanisms under labour laws.

 

Limitations of Social Security Code 2020

• Limited social security: Gig workers only get access to specific schemes, not comprehensive institutional protection.
• Missing safety standards: Occupational safety and health regulations do not cover gig workers.
• No inclusion under dispute resolution: Gig workers are excluded from the Industrial Relations Code 2020.

 

Need for Clear Employment Relation Definition

• Core issue: The employment relation for gig workers remains undefined.
• Aggregator accountability: Aggregators should be recognized as employers to protect gig workers’ rights.
• International precedent: The 2021 UK Supreme Court ruling on Uber established Uber as an employer, with drivers classified as workers.

 

Way Forward

• Inclusion under labour codes: Once the employment relation is clearly defined, gig workers can be included under the four existing labour codes.
• Welfare board model: This has shown limited success with informal workers in the past.
• Formalisation of gig workers: Defining the employment relationship will promote formalisation and greater worker protection.

 

Conclusion

• Streamlined labour codes: The focus should be on simplifying and rationalizing labour laws, not creating separate laws for different segments.
• Key step: Recognizing the employment relationship in gig work is essential for comprehensive worker protection and social security benefits.