Politics
Delhi High Court Asks Centre If It Will Regulate Infinite Scroll, Autoplay And Personalized Feeds
The case could force clearer rules on compulsive design and child safety.
The case could force clearer rules on compulsive design and child safety.
scrutiny of addictive social media design has turned a complaint into a wider test of how far India should regulate . The court is pressing the to say whether it will act on features like and , while the government weighs whether existing online safety duties are enough or whether new rules are needed.
The current status is that the court has asked the Centre for instructions and given it three weeks to say whether a policy is being considered. Coverage indicates the next step is a further hearing after the government's response, with no immediate ban or rule ordered yet. The case now tests whether India will move from platform self-regulation toward on .
The petition and hearing pointed to several possible responses, including restricting or regulating infinite scroll, autoplay, algorithmically curated feeds and persistent notifications. Other options mentioned in coverage included expert review, , and . The legal debate has therefore moved beyond content moderation toward the themselves.
The Delhi High Court sought the Centre's instructions on whether it is considering a policy framework to regulate social media design features such as infinite scroll and autoplay.
The asked whether it was considering a policy to address addictive social media features such as endless scrolling, autoplay and personalised feeds. The bench wanted instructions on whether any government framework was being contemplated for that may keep youngsters hooked. The court gave three weeks to respond and .
Another Delhi High Court filing sharpened the focus on , naming and as features that keep users hooked. The petition also sought an to examine whether such architecture should be restricted, prohibited or regulated. It tied the issue to and , arguing that platforms optimize for screen time over well-being.
In related proceedings, the court asked the Central Government to consider a plea seeking curbs on social media access for and tighter controls for . The request linked age-based protection directly to online content and platform design choices. It added pressure on the Centre to clarify whether existing rules were enough or whether were needed.
The Delhi High Court said that banning or regulating children's access to social media falls within the 's . It urged the government to decide on a further course of action rather than expecting the court to draft the rule itself. This hearing shifted the issue from a petition about harms to a question of which branch of government should regulate .
A reached the seeking curbs on , , and . The plea asked for guidelines, or even a law, to protect and to regulate content and access for users . It framed these design features as engagement-maximising and addiction-causing, especially harmful for young users.
A government press release reiterated that must avoid hosting or sharing information harmful to children and must act on under the . This reinforced the Centre's view that online safety for minors is already partly covered by . It also provided the legal backdrop for later claims that addictive design could be folded into existing child-protection duties.
The created baseline obligations for , including , and related duties. These rules became the main existing legal framework later cited in arguments about whether addictive design features could already be addressed through current regulation. The framework also left open questions about whether product design itself, not just harmful content, should be regulated.