No blanket internet ban, but tighter controls: How India can regulate social media for under-18s

India could tighten rules governing children’s access to social media, with the Supreme Court asking the Center to examine whether safeguards for users under 18 can be built into the legal framework governing digital intermediaries.

This is not a blanket restriction of internet access for minors. The ruling focuses on whether children under 18 should be able to independently create and manage social media accounts and enter into contracts with digital platforms.

The development follows a petition by the Just Rights for Children Alliance (JRCA), which seeks enforceable safeguards for minors using social media and other digital platforms.

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What did the Supreme Court say?

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohan asked the Center to examine whether the existing brokerage rules can be strengthened to ensure platforms comply with India’s laws governing minors, news agency ANI reported.

Justice Bagchi said the requirement should have a statutory format rather than remaining a mere guideline. He told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, “Please pass on the instructions as per the rules for intermediaries to make their software, or whatever the platform is called, in accordance with Indian law. The software must conform to Indian law. That is our demand.”

Mehta replied, “Not a request, a direction.”

The attorney general also told the bench, “Something can be done, something should be done and will be done.”

Why is 18 years central to the case?

The petition relies on Section 11 of the Indian Contract Act, which deals with legal capacity to enter into contracts.

Senior advocate HS Phoolka, appearing for the JRCA, argued that there was no need to wait for the proposed data protection framework as existing legislation already addressed the contractual capacity of minors.

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“Under existing Indian law, these contracts are void. We don’t have to wait for the Privacy Act. The existing law prohibits them,” he said.

The petition claims that registering on social media involves accepting the platform’s terms and conditions, creating a mismatch between platforms that allow younger users to register and India’s legal framework governing minors.

Could parental consent be mandatory?

One of the mechanisms considered is the consent of parents or legal guardians.

The petition called for changes to the Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Code of Ethics for Digital Media) 2021 or specific provisions requiring platforms to obtain parental or guardian consent before entering into contracts with users under 18. It also suggested identity verification or e-KYC of the parent or guardian.

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The General Counsel suggested that a regulatory mechanism based on parental consent could be considered, establishing a contractual relationship between the parent company and the platform.

What would change for social media platforms?

The proposed approach could require platforms to build their systems around Indian legal requirements, rather than simply relying on their existing minimum age policies.

The petition specifically points to platforms like Facebook and Snapchat, which allow account creation from the age of 13, and claims that this is inconsistent with the legal status of minors in India.

The Supreme Court has also earlier sought safeguards for minors using digital platforms. On September 10, the bench said, “We need some guarantees in India.”

What risks did the petition identify?

The JRCA petition raised concerns about the exposure of children to online grooming, sexual exploitation, human trafficking, sexual blackmail, cyberbullying, behavioral profiling, misuse of personal data and age-inappropriate content.

It also argued that the platforms had not sufficiently implemented automated filtering and age verification systems despite existing legal restrictions on child sexual abuse and exploitative material.

The Supreme Court has separately examined how social media providers comply with their obligations regarding child sexual exploitation and abuse material.

what’s next

The Center is now investigating whether the safeguards can be incorporated into the statutory framework governing the intermediary. The Supreme Court is expected to hear the matter again after the government considers the matter, News 18 reported.

So the immediate question is not whether minors will lose internet access altogether, but how social media platforms operating in India will have to verify age, manage accounts belonging to minors and incorporate parental consent into their systems if such rules are eventually adopted.