SOCIAL MEDIA BAN FOR CHILDREN

NEWS: Suicide of three sisters in Ghaziabad, sparked by screen addiction and parental conflict over mobile phone use

ABOUT

• Social media ban for children: Legal or regulatory prohibitionsàprevent individuals under a certain age (typically 16) from creating/ maintaining accounts on major digital platforms.
• Shifting the burden of age verificationà onto tech companies
  • Often requiring government-issued IDs/biometric verification->Ensure minors do not access these digital Wild Wests

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• ASER Report (2025-26): Over 90% of Indian teenagers are active social media users.
• Economic Survey 2025-26: Compulsive scrolling+ digital addiction = major public health concern
• India has the world’s largest user base for platforms like Instagram and Facebook
• ~61% of urban Indian children spend over 3 hours daily on the internet

Legal frameworks that governs social media in India

• Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000: Digital regulation in India
• IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021: Requires social media platforms to have a grievance redressal mechanism
• Section 79 of IT Act: Provides safe harbor protection to intermediaries
• Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860 – It is used to address illegal content