The Centre has told the Supreme Court that it plans to introduce a provision in the Information Technology Intermediary Rules preventing social media platforms from allowing people under 18 to create social media accounts.
The government’s position came during a hearing before a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana. The proposal was also supported by the petitioner, the Just Rights for Children Alliance.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that agreements entered into between minors and social media intermediaries could be treated as void contracts and that platforms should therefore be prevented from allowing such accounts to be created.
He clarified that children could still access educational websites with parental consent. However, the government intends to establish a statutory requirement preventing intermediaries from allowing minors to maintain social media accounts.
During the hearing, Justice Joymalya Bagchi questioned the practice of platforms applying restrictions based on laws in other countries while operating within India’s digital environment. The court emphasised that platforms operating in India must comply with Indian law.
When the Solicitor General said that intermediaries would have to be brought under greater regulatory control, the bench asked whether the government could issue directions under the Intermediary Rules requiring platforms to modify their systems and software to comply with Indian legal requirements.
Mehta agreed that social media platforms would be required to follow Indian law and indicated that appropriate measures would be introduced.
Justice Bagchi suggested that platforms should impose a minimum age threshold of 18 years for registering social media accounts. The Solicitor General agreed that such a requirement should be formally incorporated into legislation or the applicable rules.
Senior advocate H. S. Phoolka, representing the petitioner, told the court that the government already had certain guidelines relating to the issue but that stronger enforcement was required.
The Solicitor General said the restrictions should instead be implemented through a statutory framework. Chief Justice Surya Kant also indicated that a statutory mechanism would be appropriate and asked the government to consider the matter and return with its response.
The petitioner organisation argued that the absence of a consistent and effective mechanism for enforcing age-related restrictions in the digital environment leaves children vulnerable to several risks. These include online grooming, sexual exploitation, trafficking, behavioural profiling, misuse of personal information, cyberbullying and exposure to content that may not be appropriate for their age.
The proposed changes would place a formal legal obligation on social media intermediaries to prevent users below the age of 18 from creating accounts, while potentially allowing parental consent for access to educational and other appropriate online services.
