Artificial Intelligence and Child Rights in India: Addressing Online Safety, Privacy and Regulatory Challenges in the Digital Age

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become deeply embedded in the digital lives of children, influencing the ways in which they learn, communicate, access information, play, and participate in online spaces. AI-powered educational applications, recommendation systems, social media platforms, online games, virtual assistants, and generative AI tools offer considerable opportunities for learning, creativity, accessibility, and social participation. At the same time, their growing use has created serious concerns relating to children's privacy, behavioural profiling, algorithmic discrimination, exposure to harmful content, online exploitation, deepfakes, and psychological well-being. These concerns acquire particular significance because children, owing to their age and evolving capacities, may be disproportionately affected by automated and data-driven systems whose functioning is often difficult to understand or challenge. This paper examines these emerging concerns through a doctrinal and comparative legal approach, drawing upon constitutional provisions, legislation, judicial decisions, international child-rights instruments, regulatory frameworks, and relevant empirical and policy reports. Particular attention is given to the guarantees of equality, non-discrimination, privacy, dignity, and personal liberty under Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution of India and their relevance to algorithmic decision-making affecting children. The paper critically evaluates the adequacy of the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 in responding to AI-enabled risks. It also considers the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and comparative regulatory developments, particularly the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act. The central argument of the paper is that India's existing legal framework provides important protections against particular digital harms but does not yet adequately address the design, deployment, transparency, discriminatory effects, and accountability of AI systems affecting children. It therefore advocates a child-centred and constitutionally grounded approach to AI governance that combines technological innovation with privacy, equality, safety, transparency, accountability, and the best interests of the child.