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The Delhi High Court on Thursday refused to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking guidelines or enactment of a legislation to protect children under the age of 13 years by imposing restrictions on their access to social media platforms and to regulate the content for minors from the age of 13 years to 16 years.

A division bench comprising Justice V Kameswar Rao and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora said that the issue of restricting children to access the social media is a policy decision to be taken by the Central Government and the Court cannot pass such a directive.

“Their views have to be taken and then it is in the realm of a policy…It is not for a Court to give a direction that you should ban this, or that you should ban that…Let them look into it and then pass an order," the Court said.

The plea sought a prohibition on social media use by children aged 16 years and below, coupled with mandatory age-verification mechanisms and overnight curfews.

The petition was filed by one Kirti Dua, a mother of a three-year-old child, and Dr. Sharad Gupta, a paediatrician.

During the hearing today, the counsel appearing for the Central Government submitted that the the issue pertaining to restricting or regulating the use of social media for children is a policy decision which has to be considered by the Government.

It was also submitted that such a policy will have wider ramifications which and would also require stakeholder consultation.

The Centre's counsel submitted that the plea can be directed to be considered as a representation and an appropriate order can then be passed.

As the Court observed that it cannot bind the government as it is a policy decision, it said that the Centre will look into the issue and take an appropriate decision.

However, no timeline has been fixed for taking a decision.

According to the petition, despite the existence of the Information Technology Act, the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and the POCSO Act, harmful content remains easily accessible to children due to weak implementation of existing laws and inadequate safeguards adopted by social media platforms.

The petitioners contended that unrestricted access to social media has led to increasing digital addiction among children, adversely affecting their mental, emotional and physical well-being.

As per the petitioners, the alleged failure of the authorities to adequately regulate such platforms infringes the fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India and is inconsistent with the State's obligation to protect minor children.

The PIL sought directions to the Union Government to formulate guidelines and regulations, and to consider enacting a central legislation restricting children aged 16 years and below from accessing harmful content on social media.

It further sought directions to social media platforms to implement robust age-verification systems and strictly enforce child safety policies before allowing users to access their platforms.

“What India needs, therefore, is strict guidelines, regulations, and consideration of a properly codified legislative instrument with binding force one that remedies these defects and ensures social media platforms are held accountable for any violation,” the plea stated.

Title: KIRTI DUA & ANR v. UNION OF INDIA & ORS

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