India to Mandate 18+ Age for Social Media Accounts After Supreme Court Push

In a landmark move, India's Centre has informed the Supreme Court that it will amend the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, to legally prevent children under 18 from creating social media accounts. This follows strong directives from the apex court, which emphasized that existing agreements between minors and digital platforms are void under Indian law, citing significant online risks to young users. The government's commitment to making this a 'statutory obligation' signals a major shift from voluntary guidelines to legally enforceable age restrictions. The Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, has been pressing for robust safeguards after a petition by the NGO 'Just Rights for Children Alliance' highlighted the dangers minors face online, including online grooming, cyberbullying, and data misuse. Currently, many social media platforms allow users as young as 13 to register, operating under different international laws, a practice the court deemed 'impermissible' under Indian legal frameworks like the Indian Contract Act, 1872. While the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) addresses some child data protection, its relevant provisions are slated for enforcement only in May 2027, necessitating immediate amendments to the IT Rules. The Centre, through Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, has agreed to incorporate these age restrictions into law, indicating that social media platforms will now be mandated to re-engineer their systems to comply with the 18-year age threshold. This imminent change will force major tech companies to implement stringent age verification mechanisms, impacting how millions of young Indians access and interact with digital spaces. The government has requested time to finalize the statutory framework, with the Supreme Court expecting a definitive response on these critical child protection measures.