Madras High Court Urges Centre to Consider Australia-Style Social Media Ban for Kids Under 16

New Delhi: The Madras High Court has suggested the Central government look into a new law that could restrict children under 16 from using social media, similar to a rule recently adopted in Australia. The court said such a move could help protect young people from harmful and explicit content online. 

Why is the court raising this now?

The suggestion came during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in 2018 by a petitioner S Vijayakumar from Madurai. He told the court that children easily access pornographic and inappropriate material on the internet. The judges agreed that children are especially vulnerable online and that parents have a key role in safeguarding them.

What exactly did the judges say?

A bench led by Justices G. Jayachandran and K. K. Ramakrishnan told the lawyers that the Centre "may explore the possibility of passing legislation like Australia". The judges also said that until any law is framed, authorities should step up public awareness campaigns. 

"The central government can consider enacting a law similar to Australia’s social media ban. Until such a law is passed, authorities must strengthen awareness campaigns and ensure they reach vulnerable groups through all available media," the bench said.

How does the Australian law work?

Australia's new Online Safety Amendment Act bans minors under 16 from having accounts on major social media platforms. The law requires tech companies to take steps to prevent users under 16 from joining their services and imposes fines on those that fail to comply.