{"references": ["Joint Leaders' statement - Violence against children: A hidden crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, World Health, Sep. 2020, 28, 9:23 am. https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/08-04-2020-joint-leader-s-statement---violence-against-children-a-hidden-crisis-of-the-covid-19-pandemic Online search for child pornography escalates after lockdown in India, Deccan Herald, Sep. 2020, 29, 5:34 pm. https://www.deccanherald.com/national/online-search-for-child-pornography-escalates-after-lockdown-in-india-827602.html Sexual Abuse of Children on the Internet: a new challenge for Interpol, UNESCO Digital Library, Sep. 2020, 30, 3:45 pm. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000114734 COVID-19 Aftershocks: A Perfect Storm, World Vision International, Oct. 2020, 02, 7:25 pm. https://www.wvi.org/publications/report/coronavirus-health-crisis/covid-19-aftershocks-perfect-storm Child Sexual Abuse Material in India, Report on Demand for Child Pornography & Pilot Deterrence using Artificial Intelligence, India Child Protection Fund, Oct. 2020, 02, 10:11 pm. https://7d53df5d-623a-479f-89b5-c88a0757a721.filesusr.com/ugd/aeb656_0247bfeedc04490b8e44e4fba71e3ad7.pdf Ibid. Demand for child pornography in India spiked since lockdown: ICPF, Economics Times, Oct. 2020, 04, 9:45 am. https://ciso.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/demand-for-child-pornography-in-india-spiked-since-lockdown-icpf/75127959 In-built automated filtering only for child porn: MeitY's draft rules , The Economics Times, Oct. 2020, 04, 7:25 pm. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/ites/in-built-automated-filtering-only-for-child-porn-meitys-draft-rules/articleshow/74091469.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst The Protection of Children From Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act, 2019. Janhit Manch v. State of Maharashtra, (2019) 2 SCC 505 Kamlesh Vaswani v. Union of India, (2014) 6 SCC 705 US alert for India: 25,000 child porn cases uploaded in five months, The Indian Express, Oct. 2020, 05, 10:00 am. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/child-pornography-india-ncmec-us-report-6238603/lite/ Harsh Chugh v. Union of India In Re, (2018) 17 SCC 79 Supreme Court mulls forming Committee to check on the issue of Child Trafficking for Child Labour in private establishments, Bar and Bench, Oct. 2020, 07, 11:45 am. https://www.barandbench.com/news/litigation/sc-mulls-forming-committee-check-on-child-trafficking-child-labour-private-establishments Panel suggests steps to curb child porn, The Hindu, Oct. 2020, 08, 12:25 pm. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/panel-suggests-steps-to-curb-child-porn/article30756641.ece/amp/ Kerala cops collect IP addresses of 150 people who downloaded child porn amid lockdown, The Indian Express, Oct. 2020, 09, 1:05 pm. https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2020/apr/17/kerala-cops-collect-ip-addresses-of-150-people-who-downloaded-child-porn-amid-lockdown-2131516.amp India's internet base crosses 500 million mark, driven by Rural India, Live Mint, Oct. 2020, 11, 8:23 pm. https://www.livemint.com/industry/telecom/internet-users-exceed-500-million-rural-india-driving-growth-report-1552300847307.html, State of U.P. v Lalai Singh Yadav, (1977 AIR 202) The dark web of child porn, India today, Oct. 2020, 12, 8:10 pm. https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/magazine/editor-s-note/story/20200302-from-the-editor-in-chief-1648214-2020-02-2"]}

During the lockdown period, imposed due to the outbreak of COVID-19, utilization of the internet and popularity of various social media platforms increased at a significant height. Along with it, children across the globe were forced to stay back at home due to the closure of the educational institutions and in certain cases were made to suffer inhuman legacies of sexual harassment, violence, etc. Due to the increased use of the internet in such a period, instances of child pornography were also found to have increased. This particular legal essay focuses on the issue of pedophiles in India amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.