Will Amend IT Rules To Bar Under-18s From Social Media: Centre To SC

The Centre has reportedly informed the Supreme Court (SC) that it plans to amend the IT Rules to prevent children under the age of 18 from opening social media accounts. 

As per Times of India, Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta told the apex court that the agreements between social media intermediaries and minors were void contracts and ought to be prevented.

The comments came as the SC was reportedly hearing on a petition filed by NGO ‘Just Rights for Children Alliance’, which raised concerns over children’s exposure to risks in the digital environment. The issue came up for hearing before a bench, comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana. 

“Membership of educational websites can be taken through consent of parents,” SG Mehta reportedly said, adding that the Union government would introduce a provision in the IT Rules to make it a statutory obligation for intermediaries to not allow minors to have social media accounts.

Arguing before the SC, the SG called for “controlling (the) intermediaries”. To this, the bench sought clarity on whether the Centre plans to introduce new rules or amend existing norms in this regard. 

In response to this, Mehta added, “They (social media intermediaries) will have to conform to Indian laws and there is no doubt about it”.

“They must restrict, at least in registering membership, to a minimum threshold of 18 years,” Justice Bagchi was quoted as saying. To this, the SG said, in agreement, that the government will now introduce a new provision to make social media platforms “compliant with Indian laws”.

The development comes as state governments rush to build frameworks to regulate social media for minors. In March, the Karnataka government proposed a ban on social media for children below 16 years of age, while Andhra Pradesh government has also hinted at plans to impose a ban on social media usage by children below 13 years of age.

In February this year, IT secretary S Krishnan had also reportedly said that the government would examine the Economic Survey’s suggestion for age-based access for social media and other digital platforms.

If the Centre amends the rules, it would put India among a growing group of countries tightening children’s access to social media. Australia has already banned social media for children below the age of 16, while Indonesia and Malaysia have introduced similar restrictions.

Based on reports, France and Turkey are also  working on minimum-age restrictions, while Greece has moved towards an under-15 framework.

However, India’s proposed threshold of 18 would be significantly higher than the age limits adopted by most countries pursuing similar measures. This comes as the Centre has been pushing social media giant Meta and Google to introduce stronger safeguards and report information related to child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to Indian authorities. 

While Meta recently rolled out usage limits, overnight access restrictions and parental controls for teens in the US, it is yet to announce the same in India. 

The proposed restriction comes at a time when social media has become one of the largest digital consumer categories in India. Inc42’s latest data estimates that India has more than 655 Mn social media users, equivalent to nearly three-fourths of the country’s 886 Mn+ internet users.

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