Parental consent made mandatory for children's social media accounts.

Parental consent has been made mandatory for children under the age of 18 to create social media accounts. The draft of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act-2023 has been released. The Central Government published the draft on Friday. Through the website MyGov.in, the public can share their feedback and opinions on the proposed law. According to the draft, consent must be obtained from parents before collecting any personal information related to children. It also states that personal data of children cannot be collected or used without parental permission.

Currently, individuals above the age of 13 can create social media accounts. However, once the new rule comes into effect, children will not be able to open online accounts independently. Exceptions will be made for using children's personal information for educational or medical purposes. According to the draft provision, social media platforms must verify the parent's age through government documents or DigiLocker.