Centre to use photoDNA technology to curb child porn

In order to curb child porn and rape videos on the internet, the Home Ministry has decided to team up with the US to set up a Virtual Private Network for secure connection between the MHA and the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) of the US with the help of ‘photoDNA hash tool’ technology.

A plan of action framed by the MHA has been submitted by the Additional solicitor general Maninder Singh. The portal includes linking all police stations in India and enables lodging of anonymous complaints.

The technology computes a hash value of images, videos and audio clips to identify similar images and prevents child pornography by computing unique hash that represents the image.

The portal, tested successfully in two states is currently being integrated with Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) of states and UTs. The status report states that a revised Cyber Crime Protection against Women and Children (CCPWC) scheme is likely to be ready by March 15 followed by various approval processes and set to be functional by June.