The Supreme Court rejected the petition demanding a ban on the use of social media for children below 13 years of age

The Supreme Court has refused to hear a petition related to the ban on the use of social media by children. The court on Friday refused to consider the petition seeking a statutory ban on the use of social media for children under the age of 13. The court said that this is a policy matter. Apart from this, the court gave the petitioner the freedom to present his side before the concerned authority.

What did the bench say?

A bench of Justice BR Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih told the lawyer appearing for the petitioner, 'This is a policy matter. You ask Parliament to make a law. We cannot interfere in this.' The bench said that we are not inclined to consider the present petition, as the relief sought is within the scope of policy. While disposing of the petition, the court also gave the petitioner the freedom to make a representation before the authority. The bench said that if any such representation is made, it should be considered as per the law within eight weeks.

Who filed the petition, what was demanded?

A petition was filed in the Supreme Court on behalf of the JAP Foundation. In this, the Center and other concerned parties were asked to regulate children's access to social media platforms. For this, there was also a demand to direct the introduction of a strong age verification system like biometric authentication. In the petition filed through advocate Mohini Priya, there was also a demand to impose strict penalties on social media platforms in case of not following the rules made for children.