Discord And Fornite Are Being Investigated By The NCPCR For Possible Religious Conversion

The National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has requested that the Electronics and Information Technology Ministry (MeitY) investigate Fortnite and the instant messaging social platform “Discord” for their alleged involvement in the religious conversion of a minor boy.

MeitY is required to submit its report within 10 days of receiving the letter from NCPCR.

NCPCR chairperson Priyank Kanoongo stated in a letter to MeitY secretary Alkesh Kumar Sharma that the commission had come across a news report stating that “two men, including a caretaker of a mosque in Ghaziabad and a man from Mumbai, were involved in the religious conversion of a minor boy through an online gaming platform Fortnite.”

According to the NCPCR letter, “this incident calls into question the compliance of the necessary terms and conditions of guidelines pertaining to information and technology.” It went on to say that recent modifications to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) 2021 mandated the creation of a framework to protect children’s interests.

However, the adjustments are not strictly enforced by the online gaming middlemen. As a result, the commission’s letter to the MeitY stated that there is a need to establish an effective structure to prevent children from accessing prohibited websites. This includes sanctions, which are extremely important to the Commission.

The Commission has also requested that MeitY investigate the availability of such a suspected online gaming platform via Android and iOS interfaces or any browser. It has requested that MeitY provide information regarding the availability of this gaming platform in any other interface, as well as further investigate the entities that are supporting the same without authorization.

“Rule 3, Rule 4B, and Rule 6A of Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code), 2021, specifically provide for a framework in the best interests of children who engage in online gaming,” according to the letter.

These rules require online gaming intermediaries to take appropriate measures to protect children and not to host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, store, update, or share any information that is harmful to children, and they also provide for punishment under Rule 7 if these rules are not followed.”