The Indian government told the Supreme Court it will rework the IT rules to restrict children under 18 from making their own independent social media accounts. According to media reports, the Centre is expected to introduce a statutory obligation for social media platforms in India to block any such new account creation without parental consent.
Justice Bagchi, a member of the bench headed by the Chief Justice of India, while hearing the public interest litigation filed by NGO Just Rights for Children Alliance, told the Centre’s representative, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, that the government should introduce directions under the relevant rules to the social media platforms to abide by the Indian laws which make minors legally incompetent to enter into legal contracts.
Mr Mehta acknowledged that agreements signed between social media intermediaries and Indian minors are “void”. This implies children under 18 cannot independently accept the terms and conditions for account creation and use, senior advocate HS Phoolka, representing JRCA, claimed. He added that the government will soon introduce either a framework, law or policy with statutory backing in this regard.
With the change, a new safeguard will restrict children under 18 from creating their online accounts independently and require a parent or guardian’s intervention. Justice Mehta said the government is examining whether the issue is covered in the yet-to-be-enforced Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, which has sections on personal data use and parental consent for children. In the meantime, the government could introduce a law or framework to address the issue.
Addressing the issue, CJI Surya Kant added that if the government does not satisfactorily address the matter, the court will be compelled to issue orders against social media companies to ensure compliance with the rules of the land (Indian Contract Act) that govern a minor’s consent to a contract or agreement.
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In response to the directions, the Indian government is expected to make changes to the IT Rules, 2021 and introduce a statutory force to enforce the minimum age requirement of 18 and above for account creation on platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and more.