Andhra, Karnataka plan social media curbs for kids

Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka on Friday announced their intention to ban the use of social media for children. While Andhra Pradesh plans to prohibit social media for children below 13 years of age, the Government in neighbouring Karnataka intends to extend the ban to children under 16.

“Definitely, we will make sure that within 90 days those below 13 years of age are not able to use social media,” said Naidu. The CM said his government will take a call on banning social media for teenagers between 13 and 16 years.

“With the objective of preventing adverse effects of increasing mobile usage on children, usage of social media will be banned for children under the age of 16,” Siddaramaiah said while presenting the state Budget for 2026-27 in the state Assembly in Bengaluru.Although neither States has announced how they plan to implement the ban, the announcements were met with both encouragement and skepticism.

Responding to queries on how Karnataka will regulate the ban in schools, colleges or at home, Siddaramaiah said, “We will formulate a programme for that. Once the programme is finalised, we will inform you.”The Central government's Economic Survey tabled in Parliament in January this year said age-based access to online platforms should be considered while also cutting down online teaching to avoid digital addiction.

In 2025, Australia became the first country to ban social media for children under 16 by blocking access to platforms including TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. Indonesia has also banned social media for children under the age of 16.

Meta, in a statement, said it will comply with local laws like bans where enforced, but added that with teens using nearly 40 apps weekly, “targeting a handful of companies won't keep them safe”. “Bans need to be applied equally”, the US headquartered social media giant, asserted.

“Governments considering social media bans should be careful not to push teens toward less safe, unregulated sites, or logged out experiences that lack important protections -- like the default safeguards we offer in Instagram's Teen Accounts,” Meta added.