The Supreme Court of India has affirmed that access to the internet is a fundamental right for all individuals, including children, while explicitly rejecting calls for a blanket age-related ban on internet usage. In a ruling delivered on October 15, Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Chandran emphasized that children possess the same constitutional rights as adults.
"We have no hesitation in saying that the right to access and use the internet is a fundamental right of every individual under Article 21 read with Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution," the bench observed. The court further noted that denying children this access would be "as absurd as saying children below a certain age do not have a conscience worth protecting or a freedom of speech worth expressing."
The court’s observations came during the hearing of petitions filed by the 'Just Rights for Children Alliance' and another applicant, which raised concerns regarding the failure of social media platforms to report child sexual exploitation and abuse material (CSEAM) to the relevant authorities. While the court declined to impose an age-based prohibition, it advocated for a robust regulatory framework, including stricter parental controls, the implementation of 'child mode' features on social media, and the aggressive removal of abusive content.
Addressing the safety of minors, the judges stated, "The safety of our children and their freedom are not at odds with each other. Our children are entitled to both." The court expressed significant concern over the "lack of earnest initiative" shown by authorities and intermediaries in protecting victims, highlighting reports of paid promotions of abusive material on social media platforms.
"There comes a time when we must ask ourselves, how many more victims of such harmful content must continue to suffer, before our conscience is stirred into making collective effort in the right direction," the bench remarked. To combat the proliferation of such content, the court directed the Central government to establish a national database of digital identifiers and URLs associated with confirmed abusive material.
Furthermore, the court ordered the Centre to develop comprehensive guidelines and standard operating procedures for technological interventions, such as perceptual hash-matching and URL listing, to ensure the swift detection and removal of illegal content. The bench concluded by stating, "We cannot emphasise this enough, that there can be no space for non-consensual sexually exploitative and abusive material on the internet, particularly on platforms that are readily accessible to the most impressionable and vulnerable of our society."
