The Supreme Court on Friday sought a response from the Central Government on a plea filed by Indore-based Emerald Heights International School seeking restrictions on children's access to social media platforms.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi scheduled the matter for further hearing on December 7.

The petition, filed by the school and its Director, Siddharth Singh, seeks directions to the Centre, the Ministry of Women and Child Development, the Ministry of Law and Justice, and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights to frame and implement a comprehensive regulatory framework to protect children from the risks associated with social media use.

The petitioners have sought a ban on social media use by children below a prescribed age, along with age-based restrictions on the creation, maintenance and use of social media accounts by minors.

The plea highlights several risks associated with children's social media use, including online grooming, sexual exploitation, cyberbullying, exposure to age-inappropriate content and compulsive use of digital platforms. It also flags concerns over depression, anxiety, social comparison, body-image dissatisfaction, disordered eating and sleep disruption.

Further, the petition raises concerns about coercion involving intimate images and children's exposure to violent, sexually explicit, self-harm and suicide-related content. It also seeks safeguards against behavioural profiling, through which platforms analyse users' behaviour, and design features that may encourage compulsive use.

According to the petitioners, these harms can develop without being detected until serious damage has occurred. They contend that platform assurances, voluntary safeguards and parental controls alone are insufficient to address the risks effectively.

The plea also seeks a declaration that the government's continued failure to protect children from these risks is arbitrary and violates their fundamental rights, including the right to equality, the right to life and personal liberty, and the right to education.

The petition was filed through advocate Vaibhav Choudhary and drawn by advocates Khusbhu Jain, Mayank Singh Rawat and Zaid Ahmed.