Supreme Court questions minors' social media presence, flags contract law gap

The Supreme Court has raised a fundamental legal question over children's presence on social media, noting that minors in India are not legally competent to enter into contracts. Since a social media account rests on an agreement between the user and the platform, the court observed that such arrangements involving children have no legal standing.

The court said social media companies must frame their platforms in conformity with Indian law and enforce an age threshold of 18 years for membership. The observation places the onus on platforms to ensure that their terms of service do not run contrary to domestic legal provisions governing the capacity to contract.

Under Indian law, a minor's agreement is void, which means a child cannot be bound by the terms and conditions that typically accompany the creation of a social media account. The court's remarks draw attention to the wide gap between this legal position and the everyday reality of underage users across platforms.

The direction signals that platforms may need to rework how they admit users and verify age, aligning their membership rules with the statutory bar on minors entering contracts. The court's observations add a fresh dimension to the ongoing debate over children's safety and accountability in the digital space.