India to mandate social media ban for under-18s via IT Rules amendment

India plans to ban users under 18 from creating social media accounts, moving age restrictions from platform policy to national law. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the Supreme Court that the government intends to amend the Information Technology (IT) Rules to make these limits mandatory. The move follows a lawsuit by the NGO Just Rights for Children Alliance, which highlighted a conflict between digital platforms and the Indian Contract Act. Under Section 11 of the Act, minors lack the legal capacity to enter into contracts. Currently, social media platforms allow children to accept terms of service independently, rendering these agreements legally void under domestic law. Legal Conflict and Enforcement Judge Joymalya Bagchi noted that tech companies have applied US-based operational rules to the Indian market, ignoring local statutes. The court has demanded that the government force platforms to reconfigure their software to align with Indian law.