New Delhi, January 3, 2025 — The Indian government has proposed draft rules under the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, proposing parental consent for individuals below 18 years to create social media accounts. Open for public comments, the rules are intended to make online experiences safer for children as well as address worries over their exposure to digital platforms.
Key Provisions
The draft proposes that data fiduciaries must have in place measures to obtain verifiable parental consent before processing any child’s personal data.
It has been proposed that such measures include specification for the person giving consent, indicating that such person is an identifiable adult, subject to verification based on compelling identity and age details or on the basis of government-issued virtual tokens. Data fiduciaries will also bear due diligence to carry out this verification.
The draft does not introduce any penalties for non-compliance. For violation of personal data breaches, however, the DPDP Act, 2023 provides for penalties of up to ₹250 crore against data fiduciaries.
Members of the public have been invited to provide feedback on the drafts within the consultation period ending February 18, 2025.
Implications for Social Media Platforms
Once finalized, these regulations will have serious implications for the operational process of leading social media players in India.
Platforms are required to set up stringent age verification and parental consent systems so as to debar users below a particular age from creation of a social media account. Their method of verification would now also include high-end technology, which would only increase costs and thwart user experience during the entire process.
Global Context and Comparisons
India’s move seems to join the efforts globally in regulating minors’ access to social media. For instance, in the USA, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) mandates verifiable parental consent for collection of personal information of children aged under 13.
The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) imposes mandatory parental consent for processing the personal data of children younger than 16 years; however, European Union member states can enforce lower ages, with no less than 13 years.
Responses from the Stakeholders
The draft rules have generated mixed responses. Child safety advocates have welcomed this initiative from the government, emphasizing stringent measures to protect children from online dangers inclusive of cyberbullying, exposure to indecent material, and invasion of privacy.
However, there are critics who say that the medium-aged limit of 18 is unduly restrictive and could prevent adolescents from accessing certain educational and social platforms that would enrich their lives.
Besides, technological and policy experts have identified some practical problems with the implementation of the rules.
Verification of a child’s age and the acquiring of verifiable consent from parents is one of the great challenges, especially in a country like India with such an immense diversity in digital literacy and access. How the officials manage to get this enforced without reaching into violation of privacy rights or unduly hampering the internet access of genuine users is another debate.
The draft rules were opened by the government to feedback from the public through raising objections and suggestions on the MyGov platform.
The participatory process has encouraged a wide array of stakeholders-parents, educators, digital rights activists, and technology firms, to intervene in a way that the final regulation would ensure a balance between child protection and rights and freedoms of internet users.
The proposed requirement for parental consent for the creation of a social media account for children is a major step towards bringing the digital space in India under regulatory checks and balance, especially for the young ones.
While during the course of the consultation, it is of utmost importance that the implementation problems be able to be tackled, along with the perspective of the many stakeholders, thus giving rise to a balanced regulatory framework.
