Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given his strongest indication yet that the Centre may be considering restrictions on social media access for young teenagers. Speaking at the Australia-India leaders' summit on Thursday, he praised Australia's decision to bar children under the age of 16 from using social media platforms and said India was drawing valuable lessons from the initiative.
The Prime Minister's remarks are the clearest signal so far that the government could be exploring similar restrictions for children. Australia became the first country last year to prohibit users below the age of 16 from accessing platforms such as TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat, with the objective of shielding children from harmful online content.
Commending the Australian government's approach, PM Modi said, "The way you are bringing changes in laws related to IT (information technology) and social media, and working to protect society, is highly inspiring for the world."
"We are learning a lot from your efforts, and taking many lessons from them," he added.
IS INDIA CONSIDERING A SOCIAL MEDIA BAN FOR CHILDREN?
The Prime Minister's comments come at a significant time. Just last week, the government directed Instagram to remove advertisements promoting child sexual abuse. Earlier, in June, a Home Ministry report highlighted the extensive use of Telegram for circulating child sexual abuse material.
Earlier this year, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had said that the government was holding discussions with social media companies on introducing age-based restrictions. Since then, officials from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology have reportedly conducted at least three meetings with social media platforms and other stakeholders, according to The Economic Times.
Several states have also proposed limiting children's access to social media. In March, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh became the first states to announce plans for such restrictions. Karnataka proposed a ban for users below 16 years of age, while Andhra Pradesh suggested limiting access for children under 13. Goa is also considering a similar policy.
However, none of these states has enacted legislation or established an enforcement framework. One of the primary hurdles is constitutional, as information technology falls under the Union List, making it a subject that only Parliament can legislate on.
There are also practical challenges. A restriction imposed in one state would become ineffective if a child moved to another state where no such policy exists.
CHALLENGES IN ENFORCING A SOCIAL MEDIA BAN
Implementing such restrictions in India presents significant challenges. As the world's second-largest smartphone market, with more than 1.16 billion mobile connections, India represents a key growth market for social media companies such as Meta and Google.
Additionally, nearly one-fourth of India's population falls within the 0-14 age group, meaning any restrictions on children's social media access could have a substantial impact on these platforms.
Another major challenge is the widespread use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). India has one of the highest VPN adoption rates globally, with nearly 43 per cent of users relying on such services. Experts say that children could also bypass restrictions through shared adult accounts or duplicate applications with weak moderation systems.
"If it's self-declared, kids will bypass it. If it's ID-based, it raises privacy and surveillance concerns," Apar Gupta of the Internet Freedom Foundation told DW.
Age verification also remains a complex issue. Social media platforms may have to conduct Know Your Customer (KYC) or identity verification checks to identify underage users. This could require minors to share sensitive personal or biometric information with private companies, raising significant privacy concerns.
WHAT CAN INDIA LEARN FROM AUSTRALIA'S LAW?
Many of these implementation challenges have already emerged in Australia.
Australia became the first country to introduce a nationwide social media ban for children under 16 in December last year. The law prevents minors from creating new social media accounts, while existing accounts belonging to under-16 users have also been deactivated.
The decision followed months of research, during which the government found that nearly 70 per cent of children aged 10 to 15 had been exposed to harmful online content, including abusive, violent and suicide-related material.
Under the Australian law, social media platforms are responsible for verifying users' ages and preventing those under 16 from accessing their services. Many companies have relied on artificial intelligence to estimate a user's age by analysing facial features through device cameras.
However, teenagers have reportedly found ways to circumvent these systems, including by using images of video game characters during verification. Companies that fail to comply with the law can face penalties of up to USD 32 million (approximately Rs 300 crore).
A recent study by the University of Newcastle, cited by The Guardian, found that despite the restrictions, more than 80 per cent of children under 16 continue to use social media.
The research, published in BMJ, identified weak age-verification systems and the widespread use of VPNs by teenagers as major reasons why the ban has been difficult to enforce.
Although Australia has pioneered legislation restricting social media access for children, its experience has highlighted the practical limitations of such a policy. Implementing similar measures in India, with its vast internet user base and digital ecosystem, is likely to present even greater challenges.
