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Centre weighs social media curbs for under-16s
IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the government is holding consultations with various social media platforms on age-based restrictions.
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The Union government is considering restricting social media access for those below the age of 16, by amending the Information Technology Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, a senior IT ministry official said.
“Certain accounts should be accessible but there are certain accounts which shouldn’t. We have to think judiciously whether kids should have access or not (to these),” added the official who asked not to be named. According to this person, the government is looking at the Australian model, although it is not considering a complete ban (for those under 16), like that country.
On Tuesday, IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a press conference that the government is holding consultations with various social media platforms on age-based restrictions.
“This is something that has been accepted by many countries — that age-based regulation has to be there. It was part of our DPDP (Digital Personal Data Protection ) Act. Right now, we are in conversation regarding deepfakes and age-based restrictions with various social media platforms,” added Vaishnaw.
Currently, there is no law in India that bars children below a certain age from accessing social media but under the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, social media platforms must obtain verifiable parental consent before processing personal data of anyone under 18. That indirectly limits use by minors because platforms typically rely on parental permission to legally handle a child’s data. This means platforms can’t freely collect data on children, or target ads at them without parental permission.
There are global precedents for age-based restrictions. Australia became the first country to put a social media ban on under-16s. Since then, France has passed a similar bill (for those under the age of 15), and Spain and the UK are considering one.
Some Indian states such as Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are considering Australia-style age bans for under-16s, although it isn’t clear how they will be able to implement this. The Madras High Court has recommended that the Centre consider an Australia-style law.
The Economic Survey released in January also recommends age-based restrictions on digital platforms, warning that compulsive screen use among young people is imposing measurable economic and social costs on the country. The survey recommends social media companies enforce age verification and implement age-appropriate defaults, “particularly for social media, gambling apps, auto-play features, and targeted advertising.”
Stronger regulation on deepfakes
In the conference, IT minister Vaishnaw also called for stronger regulations around deepfakes, adding that multinational firms must understand the cultural context of the country they are operating in — as something which is prohibited in one country may not be prohibited in another.
“ It’s a problem which is growing day by day and certainly there is a need for protecting our children, society from these harms. We have initiated a dialogue with the industry already on what kind of regulation will be needed beyond the steps that we have already taken up,” said Vaishnaw. In recent amendments to IT Rules, the government mandated takedown of deepfakes within three hours, compulsory labelling of AI-generated content, and stricter intermediary compliance. Vaishnaw added that the standing parliamentary committee on communication and information technology has studied the issue and made recommendations on curbing deepfakes.
