Parental consent must to create social media accounts of children: New draft on data rules

Govt releases draft Digital Personal Data Protection Rules without any penal clause

The government on Friday released the long-awaited draft of Digital Personal Data Protection Rules which specify that parent's verifiable consent will have to be obtained by social media or online platforms before children can create any account.

Further, parents' identity and age will also have to be validated and verified through voluntarily provided identity proof "issued by an entity entrusted by law or the Government", as per the draft rules.

As per the rules, entities will be able to use and process personal data only if individuals have given their consent to consent managers - which will be entities entrusted to manage records of consents of people.

In case of children data processing, digital platforms will need to carry out due diligence for checking that the individual identifying herself as the parent of the child is an adult and is identifiable if required in connection with any legal compliance. "A Data Fiduciary shall adopt appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure that verifiable consent of the parent is obtained before the processing of any personal data of a child," the draft rule said.