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Vaishnaw said Parliament has examined the issue in detail and that broader political consensus would be needed for stronger safeguards.
A man passes by a mural depicting various social media apps. (AFP file photo)
Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday said that the central government is in talks with social media companies to explore age-based restrictions for users, stressing the need to protect children from online harm.
Speaking at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, Vaishnaw said India is holding discussions with platforms to determine the “right way to go about this”, as several countries move towards limiting access for young teenagers.
“This is something which has now been accepted by many countries that age-based regulation has to be there,” he told reporters. “Right now we are in a conversation regarding deepfakes, regarding age-based restrictions with the various social media platforms and… what is the right way to go about this.”
“We have initiated a dialogue with industry on what kind of regulation will be needed beyond what we already have,” the IT Minister noted.
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His remarks are the clearest indication yet of possible nationwide action on age limits for social media use. Earlier, a minister in Andhra Pradesh had spoken about preparing the ground for restricting children’s access to such platforms.
Vaishnaw also underlined the need for stricter rules on deepfakes and AI-generated content. “We need much stronger regulation on deepfakes. It’s a problem which is growing day by day. And certainly there is a need for protecting our children, protecting our society from these harms,” he said.
India last week tightened its artificial intelligence rules, making it mandatory for platforms to clearly label AI-generated content and respond to government takedown requests within three hours.
The minister said Parliament has examined the issue in detail and that broader political consensus would be needed for stronger safeguards. “We need much stronger regulations on deepfakes and we must definitely create that consensus within Parliament for creating those significantly stronger restriction on deepfakes so society can be protected from these harms,” he added.
(With inputs from agencies)
February 17, 2026, 16:20 IST
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