Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday announced that his government will introduce legislation within 90 days, restricting children below 13 from using social media. The announcement came hours after his Karnataka counterpart, Siddaramaiah, announced social media would be banned for under-16s in his state.
If implemented, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh will become the first states in the country to restrict social media usage for children as governments globally seek to limit its impact on mental health, sleep, and safety. In December, Australia banned social media for under-16s. Some European countries have adopted or are considering similar restrictions. Britain this month sought the views of parents and children on banning social media access for under-16s and imposing restrictions on gaming platforms and artificial intelligence.
Naidu said the state government will soon launch a programme to prevent children under 13 from accessing social media, likely within the next 90 days. “The government is also discussing possible regulations for the 13-16 age group and will make a decision based on wider consensus,” he said. He said his government was considering the restrictions following a suggestion from his son and state information technology minister Nara Lokesh.
Naidu said his government is committed to ensuring that children are not negatively affected by social media and assured that steps will be taken to protect their well-being.
Lokesh said Karnataka’s proposal reflected a policy idea earlier floated in Andhra Pradesh. “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Glad to see Karnataka considering restrictions on social media for those under 16 – an idea we had proposed earlier in Andhra Pradesh to protect young minds from the darker side of the digital world. Sometimes good ideas travel fast. Wishing them success in taking it forward,” Lokesh posted on X.
In January, Lokesh said their government was contemplating bringing legislation to ban children under 16 from using social media. “As a state, we are studying Australia’s under-16 law, and yes, I believe we need to create a strong legal enactment,” Lokesh told Bloomberg on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Lokesh told Bloomberg that he strongly felt that youngsters under a certain age should not be on social media because they do not understand what they are seeing. He called for a strong legal framework to implement the proposal to bar children from using social media.
On October 1, then Andhra Pradesh chief secretary K Vijayanand issued a government order, constituting a Lokesh-led group of ministers (GoM) to study the current laws, rules, and guidelines applicable to social media platforms in India.
The GoM has met twice in the last two months and is studying international models on controlling social media, an official said. The official added the GoM would analyse legal issues that might arise in bringing in any such legislation. “There is no such law anywhere in India at present, and Andhra Pradesh will be the first one to implement it, if it does,” he said.
The GoM will recommend measures to ensure platforms are accountable for harmful content, misinformation, online abuse, and threats to national security. It will suggest obligations on grievance redressal and reporting mechanisms, besides advising on safeguarding the citizen rights.
