My friend Arvind walked into my drawing room looking quite agitated. He usually is like this when he has discovered a new grouse that he needs to vent before a trusted confidante. He needs ‘a trusted confidante’ to speak to, for he also has to be sure he won’t be got into trouble for having confided his feelings to a leaky blabbermouth. For the record, he requires these precautions for he has had a few unpleasant encounters with supposed law enforcers. They’d easily spot the ‘target material’ he has written all over his demeanour, and used the MAO (Many Against One) strategy to corner him. Then they’d overwhelm him with a barrage of accusations and menacing intimidation, and let him go only after extorting some money from him.

         So, knowing Arvind, he had probably just learned of something new that he didn’t agree with. For the record, again, we retired from our govt jobs in the same year after a long stint together.

         “Okay, bhai. What’s on your mind? Why’s your BP high today?”, I asked. “Tell me.” I would always hear him out. It showed he trusted me, which fact made me feel good. And it strengthened our friendship.

         And invariably, the point he’d raise held substance.

         “Have you heard about Australia introducing the law that disallows children below 16 to access social media? That they’re using a facial age-checking method to ascertain the user’s age to allow him certain SM access?”

         So this was it. “Yes”, I replied, eager to learn where this was going.

         “Do you know that something similar has already been tried by the UK government way back in 2019? It failed. People protested the technical, implementative, and privacy issues. There were operating glitches too. The law had to be withdrawn.

         “Oh?” This was getting interesting. “Then?”

         “They re-introduced it in 2023. Made some changes and thought they’d nailed it this time. But again, they were outwitted. Gen Alpha, you see.”

         “Wow again,” I said. “How?”

         “The below-18s used ingenious ways to beat the online age-verification system. To look older and gain access, they’d draw beards on their faces, or wear disguise. They also used the VPN route to bypass the recognition process. And there were still some glitches. And protests against ‘privacy intrusion’ etc continued”

         “So what about this law in Australia?” I asked Arvind. “It’s the Aussie law you were citing, right?”

         “It has failed similarly in Australia too,” he replied. “Same methods used by the under-16s. Painting-on facial hair, using disguise, and a new one – frowning into the camera during the online facial check. It’s said to make one look older. Many kids succeeded with it.”

         “But why are you disturbed about these unsuccessful foreign countries’ rules?”

         “Back home, here, the Madras High Court has recently recommended that in India too we should have an Australia-like law to keep under-16 kids away from smartphones and adult content.”

         “What’s wrong with that? Isn’t it good to want to safeguard our children’s interests?”

         “Bro,” he glared into my eyes. “This is India. You and I know well what this new law would soon be turned into. It would become another juicy tool in the hands of the corrupt enforcers. Like the dubious vigilante “anti-Romeo” squads of the recent past, they’d go on a rounding-up rampage, roping in “culprits” wantonly, and unleash extortion and abuse on kids not yet aware of how bad enforcement bullying is. Imagine the extreme mental torture that would swamp the youngsters’ lives. The ‘softer’ guys could react in tragic extremes. Understand what I’m saying?”

         He certainly had a point. Yes, it would be a ‘god-gifted’ tool in the hands of corrupt law enforcers.

         He went on. “And now even the Andhra Pradesh govt is interested in introducing this too. Do you know, we have such ‘talented’ elements in our enforcing systems who can turn any rule in our system into tools for exploitation?”

         Wow, I thought to myself. He’s galloping now.

         “Many of our young ones these days reach their breaking points surprisingly swiftly. One bad exam performance can lead them to taking the extreme step. Imagine ‘soft’ teenagers targetted by corrupt law enforcers – abused and intimidated for bribes. Beaten up for “breaking the under-16 no-SM” law. The resulting humiliation, the fear of reputations destroyed forever by these shocking experiences, the dread of how their families and society will view them henceforth.”

         “What could this ‘new corruption tool’ possibly get us? A burgeoning statistic of ‘juvenile offenders’? Terrified swathes of victimised students leading to a new huge demography of demoralised youth? More suicides due to the morale-killing encounters with ‘law enforcers’, which numbers the enforcers will try harder to falsify than the efforts to correctly implement the law of the land? Are we now also going to be the suicide capital of the world? Is this what we want?”

         I was stunned. These horrible possibilities were invisible to me until laid before me in this way. I envisioned Arvind’s and my grandchildren. They were approaching that stage where pressure to perform is the greatest. One ruthless encounter with a ‘law enforcer’ could turn any bright, promising life into a psychotic disaster. My breathing became somewhat laboured.

         “There are further fears. Grim possibilities,” Arvind added.

         I dragged my cushioned stool next to him and asked, “There’s more?”

         “Yes. We may be a nation of extraordinarily capable individuals, but we are also a one-of-the-first-to-be-quoted examples of the saying, ‘power corrupts’. Possible harmful outcomes can’t just be wished away. You have to honestly evaluate and seriously address every aspect of the matter.”

         Yup. Logical. Agreed. So?

         “Because the matter genuinely merits close scrutiny, the good intentions behind recommending such a new law is not in doubt. But we cannot risk rushing through it in our over-eagerness. Our brightest minds need to work on this in right earnest. Any oversight that leads to leaving scope for misuse of the law, and therefore ruination of our young citizens’ lives, makes the whole effort a failure.”

         He continued, a glimmer of relief appearing on his face, from having spoken his mind.

         Arvind looked at me. “Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that we are a democracy – the world’s largest democracy. We love to flaunt the phrase. We would be better served as a people if we strived to live up to the tenets of it.

         He finally relaxed and smiled, and the room shone brighter.

*****
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