Modi Supporters Propose Social Media Ban for Indian Teens

JAKARTA - The global debate on the impact of social media on children's health and safety is heating up after an ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed banning the use of social media for children and adolescents in India.

Indian lawmaker from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), L.S.K. Devarayalu, has introduced a bill that would ban anyone under the age of 16 from owning or operating a social media account. India itself is the world's second largest market for smartphones and one of the most important markets for technology giants such as Meta and YouTube.

"It's not just our children who are addicted to social media, but India is also one of the world's largest data producers for foreign platforms," Devarayalu said, quoted by VOI from Reuters, Friday, January 30.

"Based on this data, these companies build advanced AI systems, effectively making Indian users free data providers, while the strategic and economic benefits are enjoyed elsewhere," he said.

The proposal comes amid a global trend of restricting access to social media for children. Australia last month became the first country to officially ban social media for children under the age of 16. The policy was welcomed by many parents and child protection activists, but drew criticism from major technology companies and free expression advocacy groups.

In Europe, France's National Assembly this week backed a bill banning children under 15 from using social media. Britain, Denmark and Greece are also considering similar policies.

India itself currently does not set a minimum age limit for accessing social media, even though the country has around 750 million smart phone devices and more than one billion internet users, making it a key growth market for global social media apps.

The Devarayalu bill, titled Social Media (Age Restrictions and Online Safety) Bill, consists of 15 pages. The document states that no one under the age of 16 "is allowed to create, maintain, or own" a social media account. Accounts that are proven to be owned by underage users must be disabled.

"We are asking that all responsibility for ensuring user age be placed on social media platforms," Devarayalu said.

He emphasized that age verification should no longer be imposed on parents or users, but rather be the full responsibility of technology companies.

This week, the chief economic adviser to the Indian government also drew public attention after stating that India needs to design age-based access restriction policies to address what he called "digital addiction".

As of Saturday, January 31, Meta as the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Alphabet as the parent company of YouTube, and X have not responded to requests for comment on the proposed legislation. Previously, Meta stated that it supports regulations that strengthen parental supervision, but warned that a total ban risks pushing teenagers to unregulated and less secure sites.

The Indian Ministry of Information Technology has also not given an official comment.

Although it is not a government bill, Devarayalu's proposal is classified as a private member's bill. In India, this type of bill often triggers extensive debate in parliament and can affect the direction of national policy formation.

Devarayalu comes from the Telugu Desam Party, the party that rules the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and is one of the key pillars of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling coalition.