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Madras HC urges Govt to ban children under 16 from using social media

Also advised creating awareness about ‘Parental Window Service’

(‘Parental Window Service’: A control system for parents to monitor their children’s mobile phone usage)

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) – The Madras High Court on December 26th advised the Union Government that like Australia, India should also ban children below the age of 16 from using social media. It urged the centre to seriously consider the same. A division bench of Justices G. Jayaraman and K.K. Ramakrishnan of the Madurai bench observed on a public interest litigation filed on the grounds that pornographic content is easily accessible to minors.

Recently, on December 9th, Australia banned children under the age of 16 from opening accounts on social media. Australia became the first country in the world to impose such a ban.

The Madras High Court observed,

Stricter regulations should be imposed on internet service providers. They should be required to provide a ‘parental window service’ so that parents can control their children’s online activities. Also, until a new law is passed, the Government should intensify public awareness campaigns. Children and parents should be explained simple ways to use the internet safely.

Demand of the petitioners

This case relates to an old PIL.  Children are very easily exposed to obscene and ‘pornographic’ content on the internet. There is no concrete mechanism to prevent this. Hence, the petition demanded that the ‘National Commission for Protection of Child Rights’, ‘Tamil Nadu Child Rights Commission’ and internet service providers be directed to implement parental control systems and conduct large-scale awareness campaigns in schools and society.

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