Madras High Court has suggested that the Central Government should make a law on social media use like Australia. The High Court said that the use of social media by children under 16 years of age has been banned in Australia.

A division bench of Justices G Jayachandran and KK Ramakrishnan made these observations while passing the order on a PIL. The petition sought direction to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to provide parental window service as pornographic material is available and accessible to young children.

Recognizing the high sensitivity of children using the Internet, the judges said that parents have a greater responsibility. In this regard, the judges said, 'The Central Government can explore the possibility of passing a law like Australia. Until such a law is passed, the concerned authorities should intensify their awareness campaigns more effectively. They should convey the message to the vulnerable group through all available mediums.

What is the demand in the petition?

The PIL was filed by S Vijayakumar of Madurai district in 2018. In this he expressed concern that obscene material is easily available and accessible to young children. He had demanded the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and the Tamil Nadu Commission for Protection of Child Rights to exercise their authority to direct Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to provide parental window system and create awareness among the people.

What did the High Court say

The senior counsel appearing for the petitioner cited the recently passed law of the Australian Government, which bans the use of Internet by children below 16 years of age. He suggested that the Central Government can also make a similar law. Accepting the request, the judges said that the court is not satisfied with the counter-affidavits filed by the officers concerned that they are adequately discharging their responsibilities as mandated under the provisions of the Act. The judges said that it is the statutory duty and obligation of the Commission to spread awareness about child rights among various sections of the society and to promote awareness about the safeguards available to protect these rights. Although some awareness campaigns are conducted targeting children in schools, it is not enough.

lawyers' arguments

As far as ISPs (Internet Service Providers) are concerned, they are governed by separate laws. Counsel for some of the ISPs submitted that the arbitrators review the situation from time to time and as per the Information Technology Rules, 2021, whenever any information regarding objectionable websites comes to the notice of the concerned ISP, necessary action is taken. Such websites are blocked.

The bench gave this order

The bench said that the court understands that URLs containing child sexual abuse material online are available and active. However, there should also be control at the user level, which is possible only if the device has a parent control app available. For this, it is imperative to make end users aware of the danger of child pornography and measures to prevent it. Ultimately, it is an individual's own choice and right to watch or avoid such hateful content. We hope that both the Central and State Commissions will prepare an action plan in this regard and implement it in letter and spirit.