The Supreme Court of India has ruled that online connectivity constitutes a protected entitlement for all persons, including children, under Articles 19(1)(a) and 21 of the Constitution, which cover freedom of expression and the right to life and personal liberty respectively. The court determined that an outright ban drawn along age lines alone went beyond what those constitutional provisions permit, finding that the protections held by minors could not be set aside on the basis of shielding them from online dangers.
The bench, led by Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K.V. Chandran, convened to hear a petition brought forward by the child rights organisation Just Rights for Children Alliance. Those filing the petition drew attention to shortcomings in how social media platforms identify and flag child sexual exploitation and abuse material, referred to as CSEAM.
The court declined to extend broad digital restrictions to minors. In its ruling, the bench stated that children at every stage of development hold the same fundamental rights as anyone else, and that removing those rights entirely would be no more logical than arguing that a young person lacks either a conscience deserving protection or a voice deserving to be heard. The bench further noted that safeguarding the young and upholding their freedoms are goals that can coexist.
The ruling stated that internet access functions as a foundational resource for large numbers of children — particularly those in geographically isolated areas or with disabilities — supporting their ability to learn, express themselves, and connect with others. The bench observed that restricting access treats those harmed as the source of the problem, rather than directing accountability toward the offending parties and the platforms that failed to act against harmful content.
Under the court's directive, the central government is required to build and maintain a centralised repository that assigns unique digital fingerprints — including hash values and web addresses — to verified harmful material, enabling platforms to locate and remove it rapidly across their services. Proposals put forward in the proceedings over online youth safety call for platforms to introduce age-appropriate content filtering, default privacy settings geared toward younger accounts, and barriers preventing unsolicited contact from adults outside a user's network.
Online platforms would be expected to put in place formal procedures — among them the use of perceptual hash-matching tools — for removing imagery shared without the subject's agreement. The court also put forward proposals for posting emergency contact numbers — including the Child Helpline (1098) and the Cyber Crime Helpline (1930) — at schools, alongside calls for weaving age-appropriate lessons on digital safety and online ethics into classroom teaching.
A court order places the central government under an obligation to draft standard operating procedures and put forward amendments to the Information Technology Rules, with a compliance report to be filed by 10 December 2026.
