SC says no to plea for barring kids below 13 from using social media

A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih, however, granted a liberty to the petitioner to make a representation to the authority concerned.

The plea referred to the severe physical, mental and psychological impact of social media on young minds and sought a direction to mandate introduction of robust age verification systems, like biometric authentication, to regulate children's access to social media platforms.

In case the petitioner made a representation, it would be considered within eight weeks, the court said.

The plea, filed by Zep Foundation, sought directions to the Centre and others to incorporate provisions of mandatory parental controls for children between 13 and 18 years, including real-time monitoring tools, strict age verification and content restrictions in the draft Digital Personal Data Protection Rules.

The petition, filed through advocate Mohini Priya, further sought implementation of strict penalties for social media platforms failing to comply with children protection regulations.

India, the plea said, was witnessing an alarming surge in depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicide rates among children, with overwhelming empirical evidence establishing a direct correlation between excessive social media usage and declining mental health.

Unchecked digital engagement of minors was akin to a public health emergency, the plea said, and as per authoritative reports, India had over 462 million active social media users, covering 32.2 per cent of the total population, with mobile connectivity reaching 78 per cent.

The plea said around 30 per cent of the country's population comprises children between the age of four and 18 years.