AI-controlled toys serious threat for safety of children, action being taken: Vaishnaw

AI-controlled toys pose a serious threat to children's safety, and immediate actions are being taken in consultation with the consumer affairs and home ministries, Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.

During the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha, the minister said that the Government has made provisions under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 to ensure children's safety.

"AI-controlled toys are a serious threat to the safety of children. All steps that are required for this are being taken in consultation with the consumer affairs and the home ministries. Whenever we receive reports of any incidents, immediate action is taken," Vaishnaw said.

Replying to a question by BJP member C M Ramesh, Vaishnaw said that the Government recently issued rules to mitigate harm from synthetically generated content. "In the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, protection, especially for children, has been made," he said. According to the written reply laid by the minister in the House, the DPDP Act provides special safeguards for the processing of personal data of children by mandating the verifiable consent of the parent or lawful guardian before processing any personal data of a child.

The rules prescribe operational mechanisms for obtaining verifiable parental consent, including through identity and age verification measures and the use of virtual tokens.

Furthermore, the act and accompanying rules prohibit tracking, behavioural monitoring, or targeted advertising aimed at children, Vaishnaw said.

"Toys in India must comply with the Toy Quality Control Order and BIS standards, while harmful or explicit content involving children is regulated under the IT Act, IT Rules and POCSO Act," he added.