Satyarthi in favour of regulation of social media to reduce negative impact

Nobel Peace Laureate winner Kailash Satyarthi on Saturday favoured regulation of social media, including access to minors, to reduce its negative impact, though on a positive note, it can help in spreading moral values and building communities.

Satyarthi’s comments came against the backdrop of Australia banning social media for Under-16s.

“I think social media must definitely be regulated, not banned, anywhere in the world. Because a lot of hatred, violence, a lot of untruth and fake things are propagated through social media,” Satyarthi, who is in the city to attend the Hyderabad Literary Festival, told PTI. “We also see how social media is misused for trafficking of children, child sexual abuse; these things have to be regulated,” he said, when asked if he favoured a ban on social media for children in India, like in Australia.

The misuse of social media should be stopped, he said. In India, the Andhra Pradesh Government has appointed a committee to explore, among others, the possibility of restricting or banning children below 16 years of age from accessing online platforms. Australia has become the first country to ban social media for children under 16 from December 10, 2025, blocking access to various platforms.

Satyarthi also said his organisation had fought for stopping and criminalising online child sexual abuse, which is an organised crime.

Observing that there is no international law to check online child sexual abuse, he said he met more than 20 Presidents, Prime Ministers and other top leaders for a UN Convention on the issue.