India to Introduce 18-Year Age Limit for Social Media
The Indian government plans to amend IT Rules to prevent individuals under 18 from opening social media accounts. The announcement was made during a Supreme Court hearing.
The Indian government has informed the Supreme Court of its intention to amend the Information Technology (IT) Rules to prohibit individuals under the age of 18 from creating social media accounts. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that agreements between social media intermediaries and minors are void and should be prevented.
The development occurred during a hearing on a petition filed by the NGO 'Just Rights for Children Alliance', which raised concerns about children's exposure to digital risks. The government plans to introduce a provision making it a statutory obligation for intermediaries to deny account creation to minors.
Mehta stated that social media platforms must comply with Indian laws and restrict the minimum age for registration to 18 years. This move places India among countries tightening children's access to social media, following examples like Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, France, Turkey, and Greece.
India's proposed 18-year threshold is significantly higher than the limits adopted by most other nations implementing similar measures. This comes as the government pressures companies like Meta and Google to enhance safeguards and report child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to authorities. India has an estimated 655 million social media users.