The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking ban on social media for children who are below the age of 13 years [Zep Foundation v. Union of India]..A Bench of Justices BR Gavai and AG Masih declined to pass any directions on the subject after noting that it is up to the government to make policy calls on such issues.The Court, however, granted the petitioner liberty to approach the Central government with a representation on the concerns raised in the plea. .The counsel representing the petitioner, a not-for-profit organisation called the Zep Foundation, argued against unrestricted social media access to young children. The counsel contended that such unchecked access to social media would violate the fundamental rights of children under Article 21 (right to life, which includes the right to health and dignity) of the Constitution of India..The petition filed through advocate Mohini Priya said that unrestricted access to social media has led to a surge in mental health issues including depression, anxiety, self harm and suicidal tendencies among children. "A study conducted by Social Media Matters reveals that a significant percentage of young users spend over five hours daily on social media, engaging in endless scrolling and consuming algorithm-driven content specifically designed to induce addiction-like behavior. The absence of meaningful regulatory oversight has transformed social media into an unmonitored psychological battleground, where minors are subjected to predatory algorithms, unrealistic comparisons, and deeply harmful content," the plea said. The petitioner, therefore, urged the Court to direct the government to impose a total ban on social media access for children younger than 13 years old.The plea said that this was necessary given the significant psychological, cognitive and social risks associated with premature digital exposure.Other prayers made by the petitioner included: - that parental controls must be made mandatory when it comes to social media access for children between 13-18 years of age; - real-time monitoring tools, strict age verification and content restrictions should be put in place when it comes to social media access;- robust age verification systems, such as biometric authentication, must be put in place to regulate children's access to social media platforms.- strict penalties should be put in place for social media platforms failing to comply with such child protection regulations.- that the government should launch a nationwide digital literacy campaign to educate parents, teachers, and students on the harmful effects of excessive social media consumption.
