The Delhi High Court Wednesday asked the Centre to decide a representation seeking to formulate a national policy to protect children from online games addiction which is causing them psychological problems.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh asked the concerned authorities to decide the representation in accordance with the law, rules, regulations and government policy applicable to the case and disposed of a petition which also sought to constitute a regulatory authority to monitor and rate the content of both offline and online games.

The petition filed by NGO, Distress Management Collective (DMC), through advocates Robin Raju and Deepa Joseph, said the organisation has been receiving numerous complaints from parents who are concerned about children getting addicted to online games, as a result of which the kids are developing various psychological problems.

The counsel told the court that they have already made a representation to the authorities on July 10.

The plea said some recent news of children committing suicides or going into depression, and also committing crimes like theft due to online game addiction, compelled the NGO to file the petition.

"The pandemic period has posed a major problem in controlling and monitoring children from excessive gadget use. As classes are now online so parents are not in a position to reprimand children for being with a mobile phone like they did in the past. There are numerous studies that show the adverse impact of online games on the psyche of both young children (6-10 years) and adolescents (11-19 years), the plea said.

It stressed on the need for schools to give emphasis to counselling sessions and periodic sessions regarding the drastic effects of getting addicted to online gaming and said there is also a need for a national policy that lays emphasis on the role of schools and the Cyber Cell in tackling the issue.

Evil forces trying to brainwash, exploit kids via online

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said "evil forces" are "deliberately" trying to brainwash children via various platforms like online gaming and the darknet and strict action is required against the same.

Besides taking action against such entities, whose intent is to expolit children and push them towards extreme steps like suicide, awareness needs to be created among parents and children about the problems associated with such platforms, the chief minister said in response to a query in the Assembly on steps that can be taken to control the menace of online gaming.

He also said parents need to be informed about the dangers of these platforms and children need to be counselled against such entities.

Vijayan said more and more children are falling prey to these "evil forces" which are trying to enslave their minds and in some cases sexually exploit them.

He said the brainwashing and exploitation was a continuous process and does not happen overnight.

The chief minister said help from international agencies or groups, which in this particular field, can be sought to find a solution.