The Madras High Court has asked the Union government to examine whether India can bring in a law similar to Australia’s, which restricts children below the age of 16 from accessing the internet. The observation came while the Madurai Bench of Justices G Jayachandran and KK Ramakrishnan was hearing a petition seeking directions to internet service providers to offer a “parental window” to protect children from exposure to pornographic content online.
During the hearing, the court stressed the need to strengthen awareness about safe internet use among children and parents. The judges asked authorities dealing with child rights to speed up awareness campaigns and ensure that families understand the risks children face online. A lawyer appearing for the petitioner argued that parental control features on devices, along with better awareness among parents and other stakeholders, could significantly reduce children’s access to obscene and harmful content. He also referred to recent legislation in Australia that bans internet use for children below 16 and suggested that India consider a similar step.
The bench noted that effective control must exist at the user level and said this could only be achieved if parental control applications are made easily available on devices. The judges said users must be made aware of the dangers of child pornography and the ways to prevent it. They underlined that children are highly vulnerable and that parents carry a major responsibility in safeguarding them.
Taking note of the submission regarding Australia’s law, the court observed that the Centre could explore the possibility of passing similar legislation. It added that until such a law is enacted, strong and effective awareness efforts on the ground are essential. The bench expressed hope that the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and the Tamil Nadu Commission for Protection of Child Rights would prepare a clear action plan and implement it to raise awareness about the growing menace of child pornography.
Australia recently became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on social media use by children under 16. Under the law passed last year, platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok are required to remove users below 16 from December 10, failing which they could face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended the move, saying, “This reform will change lives for Australian kids, allowing them to just have their childhood.” However, several social media companies opposed the ban, and many teenagers also expressed disagreement with the decision.
