NEW DELHI: An ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proposed a bill to ban social media for children, as the world’s largest market for Meta and YouTube joins a global debate about the impact of social media on the health and safety of young people.
“Not only are our children getting addicted to social media, but India is also one of the largest producers of data for foreign platforms in the world,” said lawmaker LSK Devarayalu. Reuters on Friday.
“Based on this data, these companies are creating advanced AI systems, effectively turning Indian users into unpaid data providers, while the strategic and economic benefits are reaped elsewhere,” he said.
Last month, Australia became the first country to ban social media for children under 16, blocking access in a move welcomed by many parents and children’s advocates but criticized by major technology companies and free speech advocates.
France’s National Assembly this week backed legislation to ban children under 15 from using social media, while Britain, Denmark and Greece are studying the issue.
Facebook operator Meta YouTube, parent of Alphabet and X, did not respond Saturday to emails seeking comment on the Indian legislation. Meta has said it supports parental supervision laws, but that “governments considering bans should be careful not to push teenagers toward less safe and unregulated sites.”
India’s IT Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
India, the world’s second-largest smartphone market with 750 million devices and 1 billion internet users, is a key growth market for social media apps and does not set a minimum age for access.
Devarayalu’s 15-page Social Media (Age Restrictions and Online Safety) Bill, which is not public but was seen by ReutersIt says that no one under the age of 16 “will be permitted to create, maintain or possess” a social media account and those who have one must disable it.
“We ask that the entire responsibility of ensuring the age of users be placed on social media platforms,” Devarayalu said.
The government’s top economic adviser raised eyebrows Thursday by saying India should draft policies on age-based access limits to address “digital addiction.”
Devarayalu’s legislation is a private member’s bill, not proposed to parliament by a federal minister, but such bills often trigger debates in parliament and influence law-making.
He belongs to the Telugu Desam Party, which governs the southern state of Andhra Pradesh and is vital to Modi’s coalition government.
