NCMEC Mandatory Reporting for Online Platforms: What Developers Need to Know

Every online platform that allows user-generated content faces a legal reality that most engineering teams discover too late: if your users can send each other messages, you may be a mandatory reporter under federal law. 18 U.S.C. § 2258A requires Electronic Service Providers (ESPs) to report apparent child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline. The statute covers any service that provides email, instant messaging, ch