NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday sought responses from the Centre and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on a petition seeking restrictions on children’s use of social media, including a ban below a prescribed age.Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notices on a public interest litigation filed by Indore-based Emerald Heights International School and its director of academics, Siddharth Singh Girnar.The bench tagged the plea with a pending petition and posted the matter for hearing on December 7.The petition sought a comprehensive regulatory framework to protect children from cyberbullying, online grooming, sexual exploitation, harmful content and excessive social media use.It called for mandatory age verification, parental consent and age-based restrictions on creating and operating social media accounts.The plea urged the court to direct the Centre to “prohibit the use of social media platforms by children below such age as may be prescribed” and regulate access for older children.The petitioners argued that the government’s failure to provide adequate safeguards against online threats violated children’s fundamental rights under Articles 14, 15(3), 21 and 21A of the Constitution.Citing experiences of students and complaints from parents, the school said excessive social media use was linked to sleep deprivation, declining concentration, anxiety over online popularity, body-image issues and reduced interest in studies and outdoor activities.It also highlighted the risks of children being contacted by strangers, blackmailed, impersonated or exposed to violent and sexually explicit material.The petition argued that parents and schools could not address these problems independently because social media platforms were designed to encourage prolonged engagement.It sought legally enforceable safeguards covering both harmful content and features that promote compulsive use.
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