3 min learnJan 31, 2026 06:36 PM IST
An ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proposed a invoice to ban social media for kids, because the world’s largest marketplace for Meta and YouTube joins a worldwide debate on the impression of social media on younger folks’s well being and security.
“Not solely are our youngsters turning into hooked on social media, however India can also be one of many world’s largest producers of knowledge for international platforms,” lawmaker L.S.Ok. Devarayalu informed Reuters on Friday.
“Primarily based on this information, these firms are creating superior AI techniques, successfully turning Indian customers into unpaid information suppliers, whereas the strategic and financial advantages are reaped elsewhere,” he mentioned.
Australia final month turned the primary nation to ban social media for kids beneath 16, blocking entry in a transfer welcomed by many mother and father and youngster advocates however criticised by main expertise firms and free-speech advocates. France’s Nationwide Meeting this week backed laws to ban kids beneath 15 from social media, whereas Britain, Denmark and Greece are finding out the problem.
Fb operator Meta, YouTube-parent Alphabet and X didn’t reply on Saturday to emails looking for touch upon the Indian laws. Meta has mentioned it backs legal guidelines for parental oversight however that “governments contemplating bans needs to be cautious to not push teenagers towards much less protected, unregulated websites.”
India’s IT ministry did not reply to a request for remark.
India, the world’s second-biggest smartphone market with 750 million units and a billion web customers, is a key development marketplace for social media apps and doesn’t set a minimal age for entry.
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Devarayalu’s 15-page Social Media (Age Restrictions and On-line Security) Invoice, which isn’t public however was seen by Reuters, says nobody beneath 16 “shall be permitted to create, keep, or maintain” a social media account and people discovered to have one ought to have them disabled.
“We’re asking that the complete onus of making certain customers’ age be positioned on the social media platforms,” Devarayalu mentioned.
The federal government’s chief financial adviser attracted consideration on Thursday by saying India ought to draft insurance policies on age-based entry limits to sort out “digital dependancy”.
Devarayalu’s laws is a non-public member’s invoice – not proposed to parliament by a federal minister – however such payments typically set off debates in parliament and affect lawmaking.
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He’s from the Telugu Desam Social gathering, which governs the southern state Andhra Pradesh and is significant to Modi’s coalition authorities.