‘Digital Firewalls Needed’: Supreme Court Seeks Centre’s Reply on Social Media Access for Minors
The Supreme Court of India on Thursday issued a notice to the Union government regarding a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking to prohibit children below 18 years of age from independently creating and maintaining social media accounts.
The Supreme Court of India on Thursday issued a notice to the Union government regarding a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking to prohibit children below 18 years of age from independently creating and maintaining social media accounts. A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, sought responses from the Ministries of Electronics and Information Technology, Law and Justice, and Labour and Employment.
The petition, filed by the child rights organization Just Rights for Children Alliance through advocate Saksham Maheshwari, challenges the practice of tech platforms allowing minors to sign user agreements independently. During the hearing, the apex court remarked that India requires clear safeguards and digital firewalls to protect children online. Goa Social Media Ban: Government Proposes Age Limit for Children Under 16 on Meta, X, and YouTube to Protect Youth Mental Health.
The lawsuit highlights a key legal contradiction: under Section 11 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, minors are statutorily incompetent to enter into contracts, rendering any terms of service agreed to by a child void ab initio (void from the beginning). Despite this, digital platforms, including Meta, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube, permit users as young as 13 to create accounts by simply clicking an age declaration box.
The plea stresses that the current reliance on unverified age declarations exposes children to serious digital threats, including online grooming, sexual exploitation, cyberbullying, data profiling, and digital trafficking. To substantiate these risks, the petition cited instances where young girls were enticed and trapped online through social media lures before being rescued. Social Media Ban In Karnataka: CM Siddaramaiah Proposes Ban for Children Under 16 to Prevent Adverse Effects of Mobile Use.
Rather than seeking a complete ban on digital access, the petition advocates for a "prevention by design" framework. It requests that children access educational, lawful, and age-appropriate content through accounts supervised and managed by parents or legal guardians, backed by mandatory age-assurance tools or parent e-KYC verification.
The Supreme Court has tentatively scheduled the matter for its next hearing on September 25.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 10, 2026 04:52 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
