An Indian lawmaker close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proposed a bill aimed at banning the use of social media for children, in a move that would put India, the world’s largest market for platforms such as Meta and YouTube, at the center of an escalating international debate over the impact of these platforms on the health and safety of young people.
child addiction
L. Representative said: SK Devarayar said in a media statement that not only Indian children face the risk of social media addiction, but India has become one of the largest sources of data relied on by foreign companies.
He added that these companies are using data from Indian users to develop advanced artificial intelligence systems, but their economic and strategic interests lie outside India.
similar movement
The move follows similar moves around the world, with Australia last month becoming the first country to ban social media for under-16s, according to CNBC. The decision was widely welcomed by parents and child rights advocates, but faced criticism from big tech companies and free expression advocates.
European countries are on the path to an embargo
This week, the French parliament also passed a law banning the use of social media for children under 15, and the UK, Denmark and Greece are considering similar measures.
Social media company response
YouTube and
India bill details
The 15-page bill would prohibit anyone under the age of 16 from creating, owning or managing an account on social media, and platforms would be required to disable accounts proven to belong to children under the legal age.
Devarayar stressed that the entire responsibility for verifying the age of users should lie with social media companies, not families and children.
1 billion Indian internet users
India is the second largest smartphone market in the world, with approximately 750 million devices and over 1 billion internet users. Given that there is currently no minimum legal age for users, India has become an important market for the growth of social media applications.
Although the bill was not submitted directly by the government but by an independent representative, such initiatives often open the door to debate within parliament and influence future legislation.
Devarayar belongs to the Telugu Desam Party, which rules the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, and is a key partner in Modi’s ruling coalition.
An Indian lawmaker close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proposed a bill aimed at banning the use of social media for children, a move that puts India, the world’s largest market for platforms such as Meta and YouTube, at the center of an intensifying international debate over the impact of these platforms on the health and safety of adolescents.
child addiction
In his media remarks, LSK Devarayar said that not only children in India face the risk of social media addiction, but the country has become one of the biggest sources of data relied on by foreign companies.
He added that these companies are developing advanced artificial intelligence systems using data from Indian users, but their economic and strategic interests lie outside India.
similar movement
The move follows similar global actions, with Australia last month becoming the first country to ban social media for under-16s, according to CNBC. The decision was widely welcomed by parents and child rights advocates, but criticized by big tech companies and free speech advocates.
European countries on the path to ban
France’s parliament also passed legislation this week banning children under 15 from using social media, and the UK, Denmark and Greece are considering similar measures.
Reactions from social media companies
YouTube and the platform’s parent company Meta and Alphabet
India bill details
The 15-page bill would prohibit anyone under 16 from creating, owning or managing social media accounts and would require platforms to disable accounts found to belong to minors.
Devarayal stressed that the entire responsibility for verifying the age of users lies with social media companies, not their families or children.
1 billion Indian internet users
India is the world’s second-largest smartphone market, with approximately 750 million devices and over 1 billion internet users, and currently has no minimum legal age for users, making it an important market for the growth of social media applications.
Although the bill was not directly proposed by the government, but rather by independent MPs, such initiatives often open the door for debate within parliament and influence future legislation.
It is noteworthy that Mr. Devarayar belongs to the Telugu Desam Party, which rules the southern state of Andhra Pradesh and is a key partner in Mr. Modi’s ruling coalition.
