The Centre told the Supreme Court it plans to bar anyone under 18 from opening social media accounts. This is the first time the government has committed to a statutory obligation, not just a recommendation, to restrict minors. For platforms, this means a significant overhaul of their user onboarding and age verification mechanisms.
How We Got Here
The commitment came as the Supreme Court heard a petition from NGO 'Just Rights for Children Alliance' raising concerns over online risks to minors. This follows similar moves by Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, which previously proposed bans for users below 16 and 13 respectively.
The Numbers
- Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued in court that agreements between social media intermediaries and minors are "void contracts."
- Justice Joymalya Bagchi explicitly stated platforms "must restrict, at least in registering membership, to a minimum threshold of 18 years."
- The Centre will introduce a new provision in the IT Rules, making age restriction a statutory obligation for intermediaries.
- Educational websites can still take minor memberships if they obtain explicit parental consent.
- India joins a group of countries like Australia (banning under 16), Indonesia, and Malaysia with similar restrictions.
What Happens Next
🇮🇳 Why This Matters for India
For product managers building onboarding flows in Bangalore and Pune, this mandates an immediate re-evaluation of age-gating and consent mechanisms across their social products.
The Take
The real battle here won't be in the courts, but in the implementation — specifically, how platforms will verify age and handle parental consent for existing minor users. Expect a surge in privacy-preserving age verification startups, but also a significant liability shift onto parents and platforms to self-police effectively.
Source:
Inc42 ↗