No Photos, No Real-Time Updates: Assam police advisory to schools on child safety

Assam Police has issued an urgent advisory to schools, cautioning educational institutions against sharing children’s photographs and personal information on social media platforms due to growing cyber safety concerns.

In the advisory, Assam Police warned that cyber criminals and online predators often misuse photographs and personal details of children available online for unethical and criminal activities. These include Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), AI-based image morphing or manipulation, fraud, sextortion, cyberbullying, and identity theft.

The police urged schools to avoid posting information that could help identify children, including photographs, names, class details, locations, and real-time updates on social media.

Schools have also been advised to carefully review child-related content before uploading it online to ensure student privacy and safety are not compromised.

The advisory comes amid increasing concerns over cyber threats targeting minors and highlights the importance of responsible digital practices by educational institutions to safeguard children from online exploitation and misuse of personal information.