AI-Controlled Toys Are A Serious Threat To Children's Safety, Says Ashwini Vaishnaw. Here's What India Is Doing to Address It

New Delhi: Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday that toys guided by Artificial Intelligence pose a threat children's safety. The Minister also claimed that the government is taking immediate actions to address the growing concern, and is in consultation with the consumer affairs and home ministries.

"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 reportedly said while replying to a question by BJP member C M Ramesh during the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha.

"In the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, protection, especially for children, has been made," he said.

Ashwini Vaishnaw said the DPDP Act includes safeguards to protect children’s personal data and the law requires platforms to obtain verifiable consent from a parent or legal guardian before collecting or processing any data belonging to a child.

He added that the rules outline practical methods for securing parental consent, including age and identity verification mechanisms and the use of virtual tokens. Vaishnaw also noted that the legislation bars companies from tracking children, monitoring their online behaviour, or showing them targeted advertisements.

Vaishnaw further said that the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011, (SPDI 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 Sensitive personal data must not be published and must not be further disclosed by third parties,” 

"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. 

The IT Minister also added that the India AI Governance Guidelines promote human-centric and responsible AI development. It recognises that children constitute a vulnerable group that may face risks from AI systems, and long term harm. The Guidelines also 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.

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