AI Misuse Poses New Threat to Children, Says SC Judge
He said the misuse of AI to generate sexually explicit or abusive material involving children posed difficult questions for law enforcement agencies, investigators, technology companies and the justice system.
Hyderabad:Supreme Court judge Justice Vikram Nath on Saturday warned that children’s growing dependence on digital technology, without adequate safeguards, could expose them to online sexual exploitation, grooming, cyberbullying, blackmail and other serious risks.
Delivering the keynote address at the South Zone Regional Conference on “Enhancing Access to Justice for Children in Cyberspace: Preventing Online Sexual Exploitation and Strengthening Child-Friendly Justice and Protection” in Hyderabad, Justice Nath said the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and other technologies had created new challenges for child protection.
He said the misuse of AI to generate sexually explicit or abusive material involving children posed difficult questions for law enforcement agencies, investigators, technology companies and the justice system. Even where such images were artificially generated, he said, the harm to a child’s dignity, privacy and reputation could be severe.
Justice Nath, who is also executive chairman of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), said institutions and society must anticipate emerging threats instead of waiting for children to become victims.
The conference brought together four Supreme Court judges, Chief Justices of southern High Courts, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, and judges of the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh High Courts.
Meghwal said child welfare should not be seen merely as a welfare issue but as an investment in nation-building. He stressed the need for greater digital literacy among children, parents and teachers so that online risks could be identified and addressed early.
He also called for legal processes to be made more accessible and child-friendly, emphasising both ease of access to justice and ease of understanding.
Meghwal highlighted the need for trained legal-aid lawyers and trauma-informed, gender-responsive assistance under NALSA’s child-friendly legal services framework. He also called for better coordination with initiatives such as Nyaya Bandhu, Tele-Law and One Stop Centres.
The conference framework stressed that prevention, protection, investigation, legal aid and rehabilitation should be treated as an interconnected continuum rather than as isolated responses.