Andhra Pradesh probes ban on social media for under 16

Taking note of abuse of social media, a committee formed by the Andhra Pradesh government will explore the possibility of restricting or banning children below 16 years of age from using online platforms.

Stating this here on Friday, state Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha said the committee will review existing laws, rules and guidelines applicable to online platforms. The committee, comprising a Group of Ministers (GoM), was constituted in October 2025 and will submit its report in a month’s time, she said. Anita said the committee’s findings will also be shared with the Centre.

The minister said the GoM headed by IT Minister Nara Lokesh and comprising members, including herself, Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav and others, will study models being followed by various state governments and countries so that the best model can be adopted.

The Australian government has recently brought out legislation that would set an age limit of 16 years for children to start using social media, and hold platforms responsible for ensuring compliance.

“Not only the Australian model, we are studying various models being implemented in the entire country and also worldwide. We will get a report on how to control social media abuse and also how far the state can implement it,” Anitha said. “Either a ban or restriction. How to control it (social media abuse) is the main task,” she said.

Giving examples, the minister said some of the social media platforms, though they ask the age of the user, they would not check the authentication of the date of birth entered on the site.

“What we feel is these social media platforms should ask the user to upload age proof documents so that their authenticity is verified,” she opined, saying that these are some of the suggestions that came up during the earlier discussions.

Minister Lokesh in Davos reportedly said the government is mulling restricting usage of social media by children below 16 years of age. The statement was welcomed by the ruling Telugu Desam Party.

The GoM was formed on October 1, 2025 and was tasked to submit its recommendations to the government “at an early date”.