India’s government has been pushing harder on digital safety this year, tightening rules, adding legal cover and running awareness drives, with children and digital addiction as the two big worries.
Where the Rules Come From
Two laws anchor most of this: the IT Act, 2000, and the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. Together they tell platforms what they owe their users.
Intermediaries are supposed to keep harmful content away from children and off their platforms entirely if it breaks the law. A recent amendment sharpened that obligation. Platforms now have three hours to pull unlawful content once a court order or a reasoned government direction lands.
Then there’s the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, which covers how personal data gets handled. Processing a child’s data now needs parental consent first. Behavioural tracking, targeted ads, monitoring that could harm a child’s well-being, all banned under this law.
Online gaming got its own act too. The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 targets addiction and the money risks that come with gaming, especially for younger users.
Fifty Platforms Taken Down
Over the last two years, the government has disabled 50 OTT platforms, citing obscene content and violations of Sections 67 and 67A of the IT Act, Section 294 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and Section 4 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986.
The Economic Survey 2025-26 called out digital addiction as a public health issue, mostly among 15 to 29 year olds. Cognitive development, academic performance, workplace productivity, mental health, social well-being, all affected. The survey also linked excessive gaming, social media and online gambling to anxiety, depression, sleep problems and cyberbullying, plus straight financial losses.
Getting the Word Out
A lot of the awareness work runs through the Information Security Education and Awareness programme. It has held 6,650 workshops so far, reaching over 11.37 lakh people, students, teachers, police, government staff, ordinary citizens. The programme also puts out handbooks, posters, brochures, videos and material aimed at kids, in multiple languages, across print and digital.
CERT-In does its part separately, publishing advisories, safety tips and awareness campaigns online, some aimed specifically at keeping children safe.
Key Takeaway: The Ministry of Education’s PRAGYATA Guidelines set the ground rules for safe digital learning. CBSE has built on that with its own digital etiquette guidance, teacher training on cyber security, a handbook, and encouragement for schools to start Cyber Clubs.
NCERT has folded cyber safety into the curriculum itself, with lessons for Classes XI and XII on how digital technology shapes society. CIET-NCERT has put together its own resources on the same front.
Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw shared this information in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
MCQ’s:
1. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 requires which of the following before processing the personal data of a child?
A. Approval from CERT-In
B. Approval from the State Government
C. Parental consent
D. Permission from the school
2. The Information Security Education and Awareness (ISEA) Programme is primarily aimed at:
A. Promoting semiconductor manufacturing.
B. Creating awareness about cybersecurity and safe digital practices.
C. Providing financial assistance to startups.
D. Regulating social media platforms.
