Supreme Court recognises children’s fundamental right to Internet access
Quick dive
- The Supreme Court held that the right to access and use the Internet is a fundamental right under Article 21 read with Article 19(1)(a).
- The Court said children retain the same rights and that blanket exclusion could push them toward less regulated platforms without parental knowledge.
- It favoured intelligent restraints, parental oversight, age-appropriate safeguards, child mode and grievance mechanisms over blanket bans.
- The Bench said safety and freedom are not mutually exclusive and referred to the protective purpose of reporting and confiding mechanisms under POCSO.
- exam_relevance: directly tests horizontal balancing of liberty, dignity, child protection and proportionality in digital governance, an article-specific constitutional issue rather than generic technology awareness.
Full explanation
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