The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to examine a petition by an Indore-based school seeking restrictions on children’s use of social media platforms and sought responses from the concerned Union ministries.
Yet the social-media environment children inhabit today is, in our submission, nowhere near the safe environment they deserve,” Jain said. The petition seeks a comprehensive and enforceable regulatory framework to protect children from risks associated with social media, including cyberbullying, sexual exploitation, exposure to harmful content, compulsive use and mental health problems. The plea comes weeks after the Supreme Court agreed to examine a related issue concerning the absence of guidelines to regulate the opening and maintenance of social media accounts by minors. “The Constitution does not envisage a childhood defined by exploitation, distress or abandonment. It calls for children to develop in a healthy manner, in conditions of freedom and dignity. The plea asks the court to declare that the failure to provide effective protection against online harms is arbitrary and unconstitutional, and to direct the Union government to frame, notify and implement a dedicated regulatory framework for children’s safety on social media platforms. The petition also invokes the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, particularly its provisions concerning children’s best interests and protection from physical and mental violence, sexual abuse, exploitation and material harmful to their well-being.
A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notice in the matter and listed it for further hearing on December 7. Invoking Articles 14, 15(3), 21 and 21A of the Constitution, the petition contends that the State’s continuing failure to provide effective protection against foreseeable social media harms violates children’s fundamental rights. It also relies on the directive principles of state policy under Articles 39(e) and 39(f), which call for protection of children against abuse and exploitation and for opportunities to develop in conditions of freedom and dignity. On September 10, a bench headed by CJI Surya Kant sought the Centre’s response to a petition filed by a non-profit child rights body, observing that safeguards were needed to protect children online.
