Supreme Court asks Center to respond to plea to ban minors on social media — ‘I need some protection’ | Today’s news

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Center to respond to a petition seeking a ban on social media accounts by minors, stressing the need for robust safeguards.

The petition, filed by the NGO Just Rights for Children Alliance, argued that because minors cannot legally form contracts, they should not be allowed to accept the online user agreements required to create social media accounts.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant issued notices to the ministries of electronics and information technology, law and labor, according to an Indian Express report.

During the hearing, senior advocate HS Phoolka, representing the petitioners before the bench, which also had Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana, pointed out that children below the age of 13 are prohibited from using social media in the US.

CJI Kant agreed with the concerns and said, “We need some protection in India,” as reported by IE. Justice Bagchi observed, “There should be some firewalls”.

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The “contract” argument.

The Public Interest Litigation (PIL), filed through advocate Saksham Maheshwari, highlighted that children below the age of 18 can currently independently create and maintain social media accounts despite their legal inability to enter into a contract under Section 11 of the Indian Contract Act.

The law clearly states that a minor cannot enter into a valid contract.

The plea said: “It is well settled that an agreement entered into by a person who was a minor at the time of execution is void ab initio. The absence of an effective and uniform mechanism to give practical effect to such statutory incapacities in the digital environment exposes children to foreseeable risks, including online grooming, sexual exploitation, human trafficking, behavioral profiling, misuse of personal data content and other personal data abuse, cyber risks. security, dignity, development and well-being.”

While urging the court to order the government to prevent minors from entering into contracts with digital platforms, the petition clarified that minors must still be allowed access to educational content through accounts maintained and controlled by their parents or guardians.

It also sought guidance for social media platforms on implementing effective age assurance mechanisms.

The PIL identified a “fundamental legal and regulatory inconsistency” regarding minors’ access to these platforms.

“According to Section 3 of the Majority Act, 1875, a person attains majority only after attaining the age of eighteen years. Under Section 11 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, a person who has not attained the age of majority is not competent to enter into contracts,” the petition states.

Despite this, platforms operating in India allow minors to create accounts by simply stating their age. “Such account creation typically involves acceptance of contractual terms, such as terms of service, user agreements, privacy policies, etc., that govern the relationship between the platform and the user,” the lawsuit added.

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Regarding electronic agreements, the petition argued, “Section 10 A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 recognizes contracts formed by electronic means, but does not confer substantial capacity to contract on a person who is otherwise incapable of contracting under Section 11 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872,” the petition said.

“Therefore, the technological form of acceptance, including the acceptance of a clickable wrapper or continued use of the platform, cannot change the material legal capacity of the minor.”

IT rules are ‘conspicuously silent’

The NGO pointed out that while the Information Technology (Intermediate Directives and Digital Media Code of Ethics) Rules 2021 prescribe due care obligations regarding harmful content and child protection, they are “conspicuously silent” on the contractual capacity of a minor.

“Neither the said rules nor the Parentage Act prescribe any verifiable age limit mechanism, parental consent protocol or other safeguards to prevent a child under the age of eighteen who is not competent to enter into contracts under Section 11 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872,” the suit said.

This regulatory loophole has serious implications, with the PIL stating that “children’s independent online interaction exposes them to foreseeable risks, including grooming and luring, human trafficking, sexual exploitation, cyberbullying, exposure to age-inappropriate material, misuse of personal data, behavioral profiling and other harms affecting their dignity, privacy, safety, development and well-being”.

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Plea marks Siliguri shocker

The NGO said it “has also directly assisted children in cases where online interactions have led to grooming, removal of children from their homes, human trafficking and molestation”.

The petition highlighted a specific case: “In a recent case, two minor girls were rescued after they were allegedly lured through Pinterest and a language learning app with the promise of becoming K-pop idols in South Korea. The girls were persuaded to leave their homes and were moved to Siliguri and the international border area as part of a pre-arranged trip allegedly conducted by individuals they allegedly organized online.”

“The incident shows the serious risks of online grooming and luring of minors through social media and digital platforms, including their removal from home and human trafficking. The petitioner collected several other reported cases from different parts of the country in which minors were allegedly groomed, lured, sexually exploited, subjected to blackmail, forced to leave their homes or move online through social platforms and gaming applications Instagram. Snapchat, WhatsApp and online gaming platform, showing a recurring pattern of online contact being used to target and exploit children,” he added.