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Directs Centre to Consider Plea for Children's Social Media Restrictions
A Call for Child Safety in the Digital Age
In a significant move aimed at safeguarding children in the digital realm, the has disposed of a seeking comprehensive guidelines to restrict social media access for children under 13 and regulate content for adolescents aged 13 to 16. The division bench of Justice V. Kameswar Rao and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora directed the to consider the petition along with a submitted by the petitioners and pass a .
The Petitioner's Concerns
The petition, filed by and another, raised urgent concerns about the psychological and physical well-being of minors exposed to unfiltered social media content. The petitioners sought a range of measures, including stricter implementation of the , the , and the . They also demanded guidelines for imposing overnight curfews on social media access for children aged 13 to 16, mandatory content filtering, and a robust age verification model similar to Digi Yatra linked with Aadhaar to ensure proper user identification.
Centre's Stand and 's Input
When the matter came up for hearing, , representing the , submitted that the relief sought fell within the domain of policy and that if a were made, it would be considered and decided in accordance with the law. , senior counsel appearing for (respondent no. 6), added that the Centre typically consults all stakeholders, including , when considering such representations.
Following the 's Lead
The court noted that the had recently dealt with a similar petition in Zep Foundation v. & Ors. (W.P. (C) No. 8128/2025), where it directed the petitioner to make a to the and asked the government to dispose of it within eight weeks. Taking a consistent approach, the High Court decided to dispose of the present petition with .
Key Observations from the Bench
The court recorded its order, stating:
"If that be so, we deem it appropriate to dispose of the petition by directing the respondent no. 1 to consider that along with the filed on by the petitioners and pass a on the same."
The bench further granted the Centre the discretion to hear the petitioners' representative if deemed appropriate, adding:
" shall be with respondent no. 1, if deem appropriate to give a hearing to the representative of the petitioners while considering the and ."
The Path Ahead
With this order, the has effectively placed the ball in the government's court, urging it to formulate a coherent policy on children's digital safety. The is now tasked with evaluating the petitioners' comprehensive suggestions and issuing a reasoned decision. The outcome of this deliberation could pave the way for India's first dedicated regulatory framework for minors' social media usage, balancing safety concerns with privacy rights.
