The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the central government to clarify whether it plans to formulate a policy addressing habit-forming design elements on social media platforms, such as autoplay and infinite scrolling.
A division bench comprising Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Amit Sharma heard a public interest litigation examining engagement-driven digital interfaces and listed the matter for further proceedings after three weeks. During the hearing, the court instructed Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma to seek formal instructions on whether the Union administration is considering regulatory policy measures on the subject.
Centre Points to Policy Domain and Precedent
Appearing for the government, the Additional Solicitor General informed the court that he did not possess specific instructions regarding any proposed policy. While acknowledging that the petition raises notable issues, he submitted that such matters fall within the executive domain of policymakers and suggested that the petitioner submit an administrative representation to the government.
Legal representatives for both the Centre and various social media platforms also questioned the maintainability of the petition. They cited previous orders in which the Supreme Court and high courts declined to entertain legal challenges concerning similar subject matter.
Design Architecture Challenged Over Content
The petition was brought by law professor Vikas Kathuria and filed through advocates Kartika Sharma, Harsha Sadhwani, and Subhika Joshi. The plea seeks judicial directions requiring the central government and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights to restrict, prohibit, or regulate interface mechanisms including persistent notifications, algorithmic feed personalization, autoplay video, and infinite scroll.
According to the petitioner, the legal challenge targets the deliberate structural architecture of social media services rather than the content distributed on them. The filing states that features such as personalized feeds, push alerts, and variable reward systems like “likes” are engineered to capture, retain, and continually re-engage user attention.
Concerns Over Youth Screen Time and Mental Health
The plea highlighted screen time data showing that Indian youth aged 18 to 24 spend an average of more than 120 minutes each day on social media platforms.
The petition further stated that clinical evidence connects prolonged exposure to social media platforms with elevated rates of depression and suicide among adolescents. In addition to regulatory restrictions, the petition asks the court to mandate the formation of an expert committee to examine engagement-maximizing mechanisms and propose protective safeguards.
