Internet access a fundamental right for all age groups – India's Supreme Court

The Supreme Court ruled that internet access is a fundamental right for every citizen, explicitly including children, with a bench led by Justices JB Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran rejecting proposals to fully shield minors from online spaces. Hearing a petition alleging social media platforms were failing to report child sexual exploitation material, the court held that children’s safety and freedom are complementary: they are entitled to protection and to exercise expression, access information and participate in a “marketplace of ideas.” The bench emphasized the internet’s educational and social importance, especially for children in remote areas and those with special needs, and reaffirmed that distributing child sexual abuse material is a serious criminal offence under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.

The ruling responded to evidence that platforms had been used to advertise and direct users to child sexual abuse content, with reports of ads using terms like “rape video” and “child video” linking to channels on Telegram; the government had ordered Meta to disable such content. The court declined to follow recent international moves to bar under-16 access - Australia’s and the UK’s measures and proposals by some Indian states - cautioning against blanket prohibitions and noting existing safeguards such as a requirement for verifiable parental consent under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act.