PIL seeks social media curb for minors
A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed before the Delhi High Court seeking directions to the Centre to frame guidelines and enact a law
A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed before the Delhi High Court seeking directions to the Centre to frame guidelines and enact a law to protect children below 13 years by imposing restrictions on their social media access, and regulating content for children aged 13 to 16. The petition, filed by Kirti Dua and a paediatrician, contended that the easy availability of addictive content on social media poses a serious threat to children's physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
The case was listed for hearing on Wednesday (July 29, 2026) before a Division Bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia. As Justice Karia recused, the matter is now posted for hearing before another Bench on August 5. Inadequate safeguards The plea, filed through advocate Anshul Gupta and represented by senior advocate Pinky Anand, stated that India lacks a robust, privacy-preserving digital ID system for minors, and existing parental consent mechanisms are weak and easily bypassed.
It argued that tech-savvy minors circumvent restrictions through fake dates of birth, burner emails, and spoofed IDs, rendering such safeguards porous. The plea noted that addictive design features — such as infinite scroll, autoplay, and algorithmic feeds — exploit young minds by prioritising engagement over well-being. The petition asks the court to direct major social media companies, including Meta, Alphabet, Telegram, Snap, and X, to implement robust age-verification systems and ensure strict compliance with their child safety policies. The plea relies on findings in the Economic Survey 2025-26, which highlighted growing digital addiction among children and young adults.“ On December 12, 2025, and March 11, 2026, Respondent No. 2, the Ministry of Women and Child Development, issued press releases on strengthening a coordinated response to cybercrimes and prioritising child safety.
These press releases highlighted guidelines on preventing cyberbullying in schools, homes, and cyberspace, but no machinery has been implemented to date to operationalise these functions,” the plea said.
The BriefWire