Hyderabad, Oct. 17 -- The right to access and use the internet is a fundamental right of every individual, the Supreme Court has said, adding that children, irrespective of their age, enjoy the same right.

According to LiveLaw, a bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice K Vinod Chandran held that the right flows from Article 21 (right to life and personal liberty) read with Article 19(1)(a) (freedom of speech and expression) of the Constitution.

The Supreme Court's observations came while the bench was hearing an application on child sexual exploitation and abuse material (CSEAM) online when it took up the question of whether children should be kept off the internet and social media altogether.

It said they should not. Cutting childre...