The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently recommended that the union government may consider bringing a legislation that regulates internet usage by children. Till such a decision is taken, the state and national commission for protection of child rights should draw an action plan to create awareness among children about child rights and safe internet usage, the court said.

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Tamil Nadu
Madurai HC to centre: Frame law to curb kids’ internet use
Vijayakumar’s counsel, KPS Palanivel Rajan, citing a new Australian law banning social media use for children under 16, said India could consider introducing similar legislation.

Children under 16 in Australia will be banned from using social media due to the harmful effects it has on them.Photo | Express Illustration
Express News Service
Updated on: 
26 Dec 2025, 8:46 am
2 min read
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MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently recommended that the union government may consider bringing a legislation that regulates internet usage by children. Till such a decision is taken, the state and national commission for protection of child rights should draw an action plan to create awareness among children about child rights and safe internet usage, the court said.

A bench of justices G Jayachandran and KK Ramakrishnan made the observations on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by S Vijayakumar in 2018, seeking a direction to internet service providers (ISPs) to provide ‘parental window’ service and to create awareness among the children through the authorities. Vijayakumar’s counsel KPS Palanivel Rajan said in view of the proportion of pornographic contents easily available to children, the petitioner sought the above relief.

Rajan further said the commission has a statutory duty and responsibility to spread child right literacy among various sections of the society and promote awareness of the safeguards available for protection of these rights. “No doubt, certain awareness campaigns go around focusing children at schools. However, campaign is not adequate,” he added.

Referring to a new legislation brought by Australian government prohibiting children below 16 years to hold social media accounts, he said similar legislation could be introduced in India.

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Meanwhile, advocate Chevanan Mohan appearing for ISPs stated that periodically the intermediaries review the situation and pursuant to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, necessary actions, including blocking of objectionable websites, are taken whenever it is brought to the notice of the ISPs concerned.

Hearing both sides, the judges said though websites are updated, there should be control at the user end and it can be achieved only if there is a parent control app available in the device. For this, the end users should be made aware about the menace of child pornography and measures to prevent it, they added. While it’s the individual choice and right to access such obnoxious material or to avoid it, as far as children are concerned, the vulnerability is high, so the parents’ responsibility is higher, the court observed.

Noting the reference made by Rajan regarding the Australian legislation, the judges said the union government may explore the possibility of passing a legislation like Australia. Till such legislation is passed, the authorities concerned should accelerate their awareness campaign more effectively, the judges said. “We hope that the commission both state and central will draw an action plan in this aspect and implement the same in letter and spirit,” they added and disposed of the petition.

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[26/12, 08:55] Meta AI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has recommended that the Union Government consider introducing legislation to regulate internet usage by children, citing a similar law in Australia that bans social media use for children under 16. The court emphasized the need for awareness campaigns and parental control apps to prevent children from accessing harmful content, including child pornography. ¹ ² ³

The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed by S Vijayakumar in 2018, seeking directions to internet service providers (ISPs) to provide ‘parental window’ services and create awareness among children. The court noted that while ISPs review and block objectionable websites, user-end control is crucial, and parents have a higher responsibility to protect children. ⁴

The judges, G Jayachandran and KK Ramakrishnan, urged the state and national commissions for protection of child rights to draw an action plan and implement it effectively. They also highlighted the importance of spreading child rights literacy and promoting awareness of safeguards available for protection of these rights.

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