Supreme Court Seeks Replies on Children’s Social Media Safety

The Supreme Court has sought responses from the Centre and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights on a petition seeking stronger protections for children using social media, with a hearing scheduled for December 7. The court’s notices seek replies from government authorities; they do not amount to a ruling on the petition’s claims or adoption of its proposed restrictions. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notices on October 16 to the ministries responsible for women and child development and law and justice, as well as the child-rights commission. The petition was filed by Emerald Heights International School in Indore and its director of academics, Siddharth Singh Girnar. The court tagged the matter with a pending petition. The petitioners seek a comprehensive, enforceable national framework for children’s access to social media. Their proposed measures include age-based restrictions, mandatory age verification, verifiable parental consent and safeguards against cyberbullying, sexual exploitation and harmful content. They also ask the Centre to prohibit use by children below an age to be prescribed and regulate...