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Supreme Court Rules Internet Access a Fundamental Right for Children

The ruling shifts implementation to the government, orders a national CSEAM database, prescribes technical SOPs, cautions against mandatory age checks that gather sensitive data.

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The court’s observations assume significance amid growing calls for governments to restrict children’s access to social media, including through minimum-age requirements.
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Overview

  • A bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran held in an October 15 order that the right to access and use the internet is a fundamental right under Article 21 read with Article 19(1)(a), and that this protection extends to children of all ages.
  • The court rejected blanket age‑based bans as disproportionate, saying such rules could push children to unregulated sites and deter reporting of online grooming or abuse.
  • The Supreme Court directed the Centre to create a national database of confirmed CSEAM links and digital identifiers and to issue technical standard operating procedures for detection and removal of child sexual exploitation and abuse material.
  • Instead of mandatory age verification, the bench recommended child‑friendly measures such as a dedicated child mode, parental consent or oversight and private‑by‑default accounts, while leaving specific regulatory modalities to the Union government and platforms.
  • The judgment builds on earlier digital‑rights cases, puts MeitY and other ministries on notice to act, and signals that enforcement will hinge on platform accountability, education for children and training for schools rather than a single legislative fix.