Under the draft rules of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, released by the Centre on Friday, children under 18 will now require parental consent to create social media accounts. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has invited the public to submit their objections and suggestions on the draft through the government’s citizen engagement platform, MyGov.in. Feedback will be reviewed after February 18, 2025.
To verify consent, fiduciaries are required to use government-issued IDs or digital identity tokens, such as those linked to Digital Lockers. However, educational institutions and child welfare organizations may be exempt from certain provisions of these rules.
The draft rules also emphasize enhanced consumer rights, allowing users to request the deletion of their data and demand transparency from companies regarding the reasons for data collection. A penalty of up to Rs 250 crore is proposed for violations, ensuring greater accountability for data fiduciaries. Consumers will have the right to challenge data collection practices and seek clear explanations on how their data is being used.
The rules define critical digital intermediaries, including “e-commerce entities”, “online gaming intermediaries”, and “social media intermediaries”, setting specific guidelines for each.
Social media platforms, as defined by the draft, are intermediaries that primarily enable online interaction between users, including the sharing, dissemination, and modification of information.
To oversee compliance with these rules, the government plans to establish a Data Protection Board, which will function as a fully digital regulatory body.
The Board will conduct remote hearings, investigate breaches, enforce penalties, and register consent managers – entities tasked with managing data permissions. Consent managers will be required to register with the Board and maintain a minimum net worth of Rs 12 crore.
These measures aim to ensure that data fiduciaries implement strong technical and organizational safeguards, especially for vulnerable groups like children. The draft rules also outline exemptions in certain cases, such as educational use, to prevent undue burdens on institutions that serve children’s needs.