SC-AI-034 · Content and platform

Unlawful and prohibited content safeguards

High effortCovered by ISO 27001: New for AISatisfies 11 obligations in 4 policies

What it means

  • Stop your AI tools and platform from being used to create, host or spread unlawful content, such as:
    • child sexual abuse material and non-consensual intimate imagery,
    • false documents or records, content on explosives or arms,
    • deceptive depictions of real people or events, election misinformation,
    • other content prohibited under Rule 3(1)(b) of the IT Rules.
  • Use layered defences: clear rules in terms of service, input and output filters, proactive detection, human moderation and periodic review.
  • ISO 27001 reuse: None. New for AI, not covered by ISO 27001.

Why it matters

  • The 2026 IT Rules require technical measures so users cannot create or share unlawful synthetic content, and require SSMIs to proactively detect child abuse depictions and re-uploads of removed content.
  • MeitY advisories ask that AI tools on platforms do not enable unlawful content and do not threaten electoral integrity, and that AI platforms add filters, moderation and human oversight.
  • Failure can mean loss of safe harbour under Section 79 of the IT Act and criminal exposure.

Checklist

  1. Map the prohibited content categories in Rule 3(1)(b) and the 2026 SGI categories to your content policy.
  2. Put the content policy in terms of service and show reminders at registration, login and upload (SC-AI-025 Public AI transparency statement and notices).
  3. Apply input filters (block prompts seeking prohibited content) and output filters (classify generated text, images, audio and video before release).
  4. Use hash matching and classifiers for known CSAM and re-uploads of removed content (SSMIs: mandatory).
  5. Add extra safeguards around elections: block or flag generation of candidate likenesses and voting misinformation (SC-AI-036 Deepfake and impersonation safeguards).
  6. Staff a human moderation queue for borderline cases, with culturally informed reviewers for Indian languages and religious content (SC-AI-026 Human oversight and override).
  7. Test filters with adversarial prompts and jailbreaks regularly (SC-AI-029 AI-specific security controls (prompt injection, model abuse), SC-AI-018 Robustness and adversarial testing (red teaming)).
  8. Review filter accuracy, false positives and bias periodically; record outcomes.
  9. Connect detection to takedown and reporting workflows (SC-AI-035 Takedown and response timelines, SC-AI-031 AI incident management and regulator reporting).

Evidence examples

  • Content policy mapped to IT Rules categories.
  • Filter and classifier configuration with blocked categories.
  • Hash-matching integration records (SSMIs).
  • Moderation queue metrics: volumes, decision times, reviewer languages.
  • Adversarial filter test results and fixes.
  • Periodic accuracy and bias review of automated moderation tools.

Common pitfalls

  • English-only filters on a platform used in Hindi, Tamil or Bengali.
  • Filters on text prompts but not on uploaded reference images.
  • Relying entirely on the model vendor's safety layer without testing it.
  • No re-upload detection, so removed content returns within hours.

Satisfies

Standards crosswalk

Clause references only. Check the standard itself for the exact wording.

ISO/IEC 42001

  • A.6.2.6 operation and monitoring
  • A.9.2 processes for responsible use
  • A.9.4 intended use

ISO/IEC 27001

No direct equivalent

SOC 2

No direct equivalent

Key takeaways

  • Layer defences: rules, input filters, output filters, detection and human moderation.
  • Indian platforms must cover regional languages and election content.
  • Test filters adversarially and review them for accuracy and bias.

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