Discuss the adequacy of the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 in addressing platform-design-induced harms, especially among adolescents.

The IT Rules, 2021, framed under the IT Act, 2000, regulate what is published on platforms. The harms now in question — infinite scroll, autoplay, algorithmic feeds, notification loops — arise from how platforms are built. In September 2026 the Delhi High Court asked the Centre whether a policy on such addiction-causing design is contemplated [1].

Where the Rules are adequate

• Content-layer protection works: due diligence duties, time-bound grievance redressal and Grievance Appellate Committees give adolescents a route against obscene or harmful material [2].
• Significant Social Media Intermediaries (SSMIs) carry heavier duties — compliance officers resident in India, traceability of the first originator, and proactive tools to detect child sexual abuse material [2].

Where they fall short

• No design mandate: the Rules contain no provision on engagement-maximising architecture; classification is purely user-number based, with no duty to assess risk to minors. The PIL therefore seeks an expert committee rather than a takedown [1].
• Adjacent laws only partly fill the gap. The CCPA's Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023 name 13 practices, but each turns on misleading or tricking a buyer [3]; infinite scroll hides nothing — it costs time, not money. The DPDP Act, 2023 bars tracking, behavioural monitoring and targeted advertising directed at children [4], yet autoplay needs no personal data, and the DPDP Rules, 2025 permit an 18-month phased compliance window [5].
• Enforcement mismatch: a checkout page can be inspected; a feed is generated afresh for each user, so self-declared audits cannot prove design harm.

The Rules are thus adequate for content, inadequate for architecture. The practical route is incremental: insert a design-risk duty within SSMI due diligence, extend the dark patterns list to engagement tricks, and make autoplay and notifications default-off for verified minors using DPDP age-verification [5]. Regulating the switch rather than the speech reconciles Article 21's right to health with Article 19(1)(g).