Can children legally sign up for digital platforms? Why SC is seeking Centre’s response

A Supreme Court bench has issued a notice regarding a petition arguing that children below 18 years of age cannot legally enter into contracts, yet they are allowed to create online accounts independently. This practice, according to the Just Rights for Children Alliance, exposes children to risks such as online grooming, trafficking, cyberbullying and misuse of personal data.

The petition asks the Supreme Court to direct the Centre to frame mechanisms to ensure minors do not enter into platform agreements without verified parental consent. The Indian Contract Act, 1872, states that a minor is not competent to contract, meaning any contract or agreement entered by a minor is considered void. Despite this, social media intermediaries permit children as young as 13 to create accounts by simply declaring their age.

The Information Technology Act, 2000, recognizes contracts formed through electronic means, but does not confer contractual competence on minors. While the DPDP Act, 2023 requires parental consent for processing a child's personal data, it does not prohibit minors from creating digital platform accounts or prescribe a uniform mechanism for preventing such enrolment.

The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, do not address a minor's contractual capacity and do not provide for age verification or parental authentication. The petition proposes that a legal framework should mandate "accountability mechanisms" and "effective and verifiable age-assurance and age-gating mechanisms" for minors.