Social media has been a platform for forming new connections and sharing opinions for a long time. But now, the Indian government is planning to impose restrictions on children under 18 from opening an account on social media.
The news has been shared by multiple outlets for a long time, stating that the Centre has also agreed with the Supreme Court on the same. The court has previously stated that social media intermediaries allowing minors to open accounts must follow the law and asked the Centre to take necessary action.
Notably, a bench with the Chief Justice of India has already passed an order as part of a PIL hearing filed by Just Rights for Children Alliance, a nonprofit organization, which is also known as JRCA. The petition specifically addressed the fact that safeguards are needed so that minors cannot launch social media accounts.
The court said that while someone tries to be a member of social media platforms, an individual has to be at least 18 years old. The petition said that the children’s access to such platforms leads to risks, including sexual exploitation, trafficking, and more.
While the report has started trending everywhere, netizens reacted to it on various platforms. Most of them supported the order, saying that children easily become prey to inappropriate activities and the people involved behind such activities mostly remain active on social media, keeping an eye out and targeting at the right time.
Some others said that children are also expected to get easily addicted to their phones if they are allowed to have social media accounts. They wrote that in such cases, studies and development of a child are badly impacted.
On the other hand, a few criticized the order, saying that every individual, even if he or she is under 18, has a right to live their life in their own way and use any platform that they want to. They said that no one has the authority to take away the freedom of speech and expression.
The court order has clearly started a debate on social media. But it will be interesting to see the reaction once the order is made official.
