The Government of India has agreed to amend the existing social-media rules to prevent people below 18 from independently creating social media accounts, following observations from the Supreme Court on the legal position of minors and online platforms.

The development came during a hearing before a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana. The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation filed by Just Rights for Children Alliance, which sought safeguards for children using social media and other digital platforms.

The petition raised a basic legal question: if a person below 18 cannot independently enter into a binding contract under Indian law, how can a minor accept the terms and conditions of a social media platform while creating an account?

Under Section 11 of the Indian Contract Act, a person who has not attained the age of majority is not competent to enter into a contract. The petition argued that creating a social media account involves accepting the platform's terms of service, effectively creating a contractual relationship.

The Supreme Court had earlier sought the Centre's response on the issue and indicated that safeguards were necessary. During the September 28 hearing, the court asked the government to examine whether statutory rules could be framed requiring platforms to comply with Indian law concerning contracts involving minors.

Government Plans Rule Change

The Centre has now told the Supreme Court that it plans to amend the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules to make it a statutory obligation for social media platforms to prevent children below 18 from opening accounts.

This means the proposed restriction would not simply depend on the individual policies of platforms. Instead, social media companies operating in India could be legally required to verify a user's age and prevent registrations by those below 18.

At present, several major platforms generally allow users from around the age of 13 to create accounts, subject to their individual terms and policies. The Supreme Court proceedings have questioned how such arrangements fit with India's legal framework governing minors.

Why the Issue Has Come Before the Court

The petition has also raised concerns about children's exposure to online grooming, sexual exploitation, cyberbullying, inappropriate content, trafficking and misuse of personal data. It has called for stronger age-verification systems and safeguards on digital platforms.

The proposed change is therefore centred not only on the age at which a person can use social media, but also on whether platforms have adequate mechanisms to determine the user's age and legal authority to accept their terms.

The government's move is a plan to amend the rules, not yet a completed nationwide ban. The proposed statutory changes will determine how the 18-year requirement is implemented and what age-verification mechanisms platforms will have to follow. The Supreme Court is continuing to monitor the matter.