Madras HC Urges Centre: Consider Australia-Like Social Media Ban for Under-16s

• Madras HC suggests Centre explore law to restrict social media for children under 16, mirroring Australia's recent ban.
• The observation came during a PIL hearing by Justices G Jayachandran and KK Ramakrishnan regarding children's exposure to harmful online content.
• PIL, filed by S Vijayakumar, sought parental control services from ISPs due to easy access to pornography for young children.
• Court stressed children's online risks, parents' responsibility, and need for stronger awareness campaigns by authorities.
• Australia's law bans under-16s from platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, but sparks debate on freedom of expression.

Why It Matters: Madras HC pushes Centre to consider Australia's model for child online safety, restricting social media access.