Does Centre plan to regulate addictive features on social media: Delhi HC
The bench said it would hear the PIL seeking constitution of an expert committee to examine engagement-maximising and addiction-causing design features after three weeks
The Delhi High Court questioned the Centre on September 16, 2026, regarding potential regulations for designing social media platforms to prevent addiction-inducing features. The bench of Justices Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Amit Sharma ordered the hearing of a petition seeking the formation of an expert committee to assess such features, which include infinite scroll, autoplay, algorithmically curated feeds, autoplay, notification systems, and reward engagement metrics like "likes".
Three weeks later, the court will hear the matter. Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma was tasked with seeking instructions on the issue, stating that policymakers would consider the concerns raised in the petition. The government and several social media platforms objected to the petition's maintainability due to prior court decisions.
Petitioner Vikas Kathuria, a law professor, argued that the issue is not about the content shared on the platforms but their architecture designed to addict users through these features. The petition highlighted the Indian context, noting that adolescents aged 18-24 spend over 120 minutes daily on social media, which is linked to suicide and depression.
The plea asked for the court's direction to the Central Government and National Commission for Protection of Child Rights to restrict or regulate these features.
Written by urgent.news from The Hindu - Sci-Tech's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
