The Supreme Court of India has asked the Centre to examine whether statutory rules can require social-media platforms to comply with Indian laws governing minors, including an 18-year minimum age for independently entering into contracts with such platforms, as reported by NDTV.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by NGO Just Rights For Children Alliance.
The petition seeks stricter safeguards and digital firewalls to prevent children below 18 from independently creating and using social-media accounts.
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Senior Advocate H S Phoolka appeared for the NGO.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi told Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta: “You must examine this. Opening a social media account requires agreeing to digital terms of service, which functions as a legal contract. Under Section 11 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, minors 12 and 15 year olds cannot enter into contracts, and agreements with minors are void ab initio (void from the beginning).”
SG Mehta said: “Yes, it is a void contract. Something can be done..should be done and will be done”
“The requirement should not remain a mere guideline. Government must examine giving it a statutory format under the intermediary-rule framework”, Justice Bagchi said
Respondents in the action include the Union Ministries of Electronics and Information Technology, as well as Law and Justice.
The PIL has highlighted various concerns that children face on social media platforms, such as online grooming, sextortion, cyberbullying, sexual exploitation, and misuse of personal data.
The petition reminds us that several major social media platforms, like Facebook and Snapchat, enable individuals aged 13 and up to create accounts based primarily on self-declared dates of birth.
It claims that this is inconsistent with Indian rules, which treat anyone under the age of 18 as a juvenile.
What The PIL Seeks
The petition does not call for a complete ban on internet access for children. Instead, it seeks safeguards that would require parental or guardian consent for minors to access social-media platforms.
It has also sought the use of automated technical "firewalls" to prevent children from independently accessing or creating accounts on such platforms.
The plea has placed the issue of age verification and child safety on social-media platforms before the Supreme Court, with the Centre now being asked to examine whether the requirements can be incorporated into statutory rules.
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