Stories
Supreme Court Seeks Centre's Response on Plea to Restrict Children's Social Media Use
- •The Supreme Court asked the Central government to respond to a petition seeking legal safeguards to limit children's access to social media.
- •The petition, filed by Emerald Heights International School and its Director Siddharth Singh, calls for age-based rules and a prohibition for children below a certain age.
- •Concerns raised in the plea include online grooming, cyberbullying, sexual exploitation, anxiety, depression, and exposure to harmful content.
- •The petitioners argue that voluntary safety measures and parental controls are insufficient and want a comprehensive regulatory framework.
- •The next hearing in the case has been scheduled by the bench for December 7.
Key Questions Answered
The Supreme Court sought a response from the Central government on a petition filed by Indore-based Emerald Heights International School and its Director, Siddharth Singh, seeking legal safeguards to limit children's access to social media platforms. A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi scheduled the next hearing for December 7.
The petitioners highlighted severe concerns including online grooming, sexual exploitation, cyberbullying, exposure to age-inappropriate content, anxiety, depression, body-image issues, eating disorders, sleep disruption, and social comparison. They also flagged risks associated with violent, self-harm, or suicide-related material, as well as behavioural profiling and compulsive engagement designs.
Amid growing legal scrutiny over platform harms to children, a New Mexico court in August 2026 ordered Meta to pay a total of $942 million over claims that its Facebook and Instagram platforms endangered young users. This penalty included $567 million addressing youth mental health harms and $375 million in earlier civil penalties.
