India’s Committee on the Empowerment of Women has recommended that the government require mandatory identity verification across all social media, dating, and gaming platforms operating in the country, tabling its Fourth Report of the 2025-26 session in both Houses of Parliament.
The report, titled “Cyber Crimes and Cyber Safety of Women” and chaired by Dr. D. Purandeswari, calls on the government to mandate KYC-based identity checks for all users before account creation, with periodic re-verification and mandatory high-risk flags for accounts repeatedly reported for abuse. Platforms that fail to comply with verification or age-check requirements would face penalties under the proposed framework.
The committee cited National Crime Records Bureau data showing a 239 percent increase in cybercrimes against women between 2017 and 2022, alongside a multifold rise in cases involving children. The committee held multiple sittings between June 2025 and March 2026, receiving testimony from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Google, Meta, the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, and the Cyber Peace Foundation.
Beyond KYC, the report recommends drafting a comprehensive, gender-sensitive cybercrime law that would consolidate the Information Technology Act 2000, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012, and IT Rules 2021 into a single framework. The committee also called for integrating AI-driven detection tools with the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.
The recommendation is a policy proposal, not enacted law, and would require legislative action before taking effect. The committee’s proposal follows the playbook of India’s Aadhaar-based SIM card verification mandate, which applied mandatory biometric KYC to new mobile connections in early 2025. Platforms could potentially fulfill a social media KYC mandate using Aadhaar face authentication for private apps, which India opened to e-commerce, healthcare, and other sectors in early 2025.
The KYC recommendation builds on India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, which already require verifiable parental consent before processing minors’ data and established an 18-month transition window for platform compliance. Digital rights groups have warned that mandatory KYC could chill free expression and endanger marginalized communities that rely on anonymity for safety.
Sources: MediaNama, PRS India, Internet Freedom Foundation
–
By the ID Tech Editorial Team
