Govt eyes officers in each city to act on 'revenge porn'

The submission came in response to justice N Anand Venkatesh's call for a concrete system to address the growing problem of non-consensual intimate media -- or revenge porn being disclosed.

- Ayesha Arvind

The court is hearing a petition filed by a woman advocate whose private videos were allegedly recorded and circulated by a former partner, leaving her traumatised after the content appeared on pornographic websites, messaging applications, and social media websites.

Senior counsel A Kumaraguru, representing the Union ministry of home affairs, informed the court that Union home secretary Govind Mohan had flagged the urgent need for designated CISOs in every city earlier this month. These officers would supervise cyber complaint response units, coordinate helplines for victims, ensure immediate takedown of objectionable content, conduct regular security audits, and proactively counter emerging digital threats.

Justice Venkatesh welcomed the proposal but raised concerns about the psychological toll on officers. “What will this do to his mental health? An officer whose only job from morning to evening is to sift through objectionable content. It can impact his mental well-being too. It is like judges constantly handling family court cases—the mind either breaks down or becomes desensitised,” the court observed.