Stories
Supreme Court Dismisses Plea For Age-Based Internet Ban For Children
- •The Supreme Court observed that children have the right to use the internet and a complete ban based solely on age cannot be imposed.
- •The apex court emphasized the need for stricter measures to protect children from online sexual abuse while keeping their internet access intact.
- •Directions have been given to strengthen systems for swiftly identifying and removing offensive child sexual abuse material from digital platforms.
- •The court warned that strict age restrictions could drive children toward unregulated and more dangerous websites out of fear of punishment.
- •The Centre has been directed to formulate guidelines for creating a perceptual hash and URL-based national database to coordinate content removal.
Key Questions Answered
The Supreme Court dismissed the plea for a complete age-based ban, observing that children have a fundamental right to use the internet and that cutting them off entirely would be unreasonable. The court stressed that children's safety and their freedom to access the internet are not contradictory, and strict age-based restrictions could instead push them toward unregulated and dangerous websites.
The Supreme Court directed the Centre to formulate guidelines for establishing a perceptual hash and URL-based national database. This system will help identify and remove child sexual abuse images, videos, and related links across different digital platforms in a coordinated manner.
To promote awareness regarding online safety, the Supreme Court emphasized launching widespread publicity and training programs starting from the primary school level. This initiative is designed to help children recognize online dangers, seek help when facing abuse, and feel confident reporting incidents to trusted adults without fear of punishment.
