Lok Sabha Question No. 266 (STARRED), answered on 2026-03-11
Subject: Effects of Artificial Intelligence Powered Toys on Children
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Dr. C M Ramesh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *266

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 11.03.2026

## EFFECTS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE POWERED TOYS ON CHILDREN

## *266.  DR. C M RAMESH:

Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has conducted or has any plan to conduct studies on the long term psychological effects on children forming attachments to Artificial Intelligence (AI) companions through toys and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the details of regulatory measures put in place to discourage import and sale of AI powered toys that encourage sexual conversations, incite violent behaviour or provide explicit adult content to children;
- (c) whether the personal data collected by AI powered toys is covered under the ambit of Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023; and
- (d) if not, whether the Government has any plan to regulate such data collection?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (d):     A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN THE REPLY TO LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *266 FOR 11.03.2026 REGARDING EFFECTS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE POWERED TOYS ON CHILDREN

******

(a)  to  (d):      India's  AI  strategy  is  based  on  Hon'ble  Prime  Minister's  vision  of  democratizing technology. It aims to address India centric challenges, create opportunities and ultimately improve the lives of citizens.

At the same time, the Government is conscious of the potential harms that may arise from AI and related technologies.

Legal safeguards are in place to prevent harm towards children:

## 1. Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000

IT Act, 2000 and IT Rules require intermediaries (social media platforms) to prevent hosting or sharing content that is harmful to children including content that is sexually explicit or promotes violence.

Platforms must remove unlawful content within 3 hours (2 hours for non-consensual sexual/intimate content)  of being notified by the government or court order.

Platforms are also obligated to report to appropriate authorities about the related offences under laws such as Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, or the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.

## 2. Protection of Children's Data (DPDP Act, 2023)

Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and Rules, 2025 cover personal data collected through technologies including  AI-powered toys

Act  provides  special  safeguards  for  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.

The  act  and  rules  made  there  under  prohibit  tracking,  behavioural  monitoring  or  targeted advertising directed at children.

3. CERT-In regularly shares safety, security tips, and awareness posters, infographics, and videos on its official websites and social media handles to sensitise internet users about online safety measures for children.

## 4.  Information  Technology  (Reasonable  Security  Practices  and  Procedures  and  Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011, (SPDI Rules).

These rules require organisations to collect personal data only for stated purposes, obtain consent before sharing it, and publish privacy policies. Sensitive personal data must not be published and must not be further disclosed by third parties.

## 5. India AI Governance Guidelines

These  Guidelines  promote  human-centric  and  responsible  AI  development.  It  recognize  that children constitute a vulnerable group that may face risks from AI systems, and long term harm. The Guidelines recommend risk assessment frameworks and monitoring of AI-related harms to help  policymakers  better  understand  real-world  risks  from  AI  systems  and  design  appropriate governance responses.

## 6. Regulatory Framework for Toy Safety and Harmful Content

Toys in India must comply with 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.

## 7. Information Security Education and Awareness (ISEA)

Programmes have been conducted for generating human resources in Information Security and creating general awareness on various aspects of cyber hygiene and cyber security.

So  far,  4,309  awareness  workshops  conducted  across  the  country  covering  over  9.63  lakh participants, including school/colleges students, teachers, law enforcement, government personnel, and general public. 1,186 awareness workshops were conducted for school children and students covering 3.38 lakh participants.

- 1.13 lakhs school teachers, police personnel & volunteers have been trained as master trainers in 66 programs and around 15 crores estimated beneficiaries covered through indirect mode.

## 8. Studies conducted by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) :

NCPCR has conducted a study on 'Effects (Physical, Behavioural and Psycho - social) of using Mobile Phones and other Devices with Internet Accessibility by Children' in 2021. The study report is available at:  https://ncpcr.gov.in/uploads/165650458362bc410794e02\_effect1.PDF

Additionally,  NCPCR  has  prepared  following  guidelines  on  Cyber  Safety  and  Protection  of children:

- Guideline and standard content for raising awareness among children, parents,educators and general public titled 'Being Safe Online' is available at: https://ncpcr.gov.in/public/uploads/16613370496305fdd946c31\_being-safe-online.pdf
- Guidelines on Cyber Safety (for inclusion in) Manual on Safety and Security of Children in Schools  are  available  at:  https://ncpcr.gov.in/uploads/16613369326305fd6444e1b\_cyber-safety- guidline.pdf
- Guidelines  for  Schools  for  prevention  of  bullying  and  cyber  bullying'  are  available  at: https://ncpcr.gov.in/uploads/1714382687662f675fe278a\_preventing-bullyingandcyberbullying-guidelines-for-schools-2024.pdf

National Council of Educational Research and Training has also released a handbook on 'Safe online learning in times of COVID19'. The handbook is available at https://ncert.nic.in/pdf/announcement/Safetolearn\_English.pdf

## 9. Additional measures to strengthen the national response to cybercrimes:

To further strengthen the mechanism to deal with such cybercrimes in a coordinated manner, the Government has also taken several other measures, including the following:

- Ministry  of  Home  Affairs  (MHA)  operates  National  Cyber  Crime  Reporting  Portal (www.cybercrime.gov.in) to enable citizens to report all cybercrimes, with special focus on crimes against children
- Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) has been established to ensure coordinated and comprehensive action against cybercrime, including child sexual exploitation
- Financial  assistance  is  provided  to  States/UTs  under  the  Cyber  Crime  Prevention  against Women and Children Scheme for capacity building, including cyber forensic laboratories and training of police, prosecutors and judicial officers
- Government periodically blocks websites containing Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) based on inputs from Interpol, routed through the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
- Internet Service Providers have been directed to dynamically block CSAM websites using global databases such as the Internet Watch Foundation (UK) and Project Arachnid (Canada)
- ISPs have also been advised to promote parental control filters and block access to identified CSAM websites, including through international gateways
- Public awareness on cyber safety is promoted through initiatives such as @CyberDost, radio campaigns, and publication of handbooks for students and adolescents

MoU has been done between NCRB (MHA) and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children  (NCMEC),  USA  .  This  enables  sharing  of  tipline  reports  on  online  child  sexual exploitation, which are further disseminated to States/UTs through the national portal for prompt action

*******