Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday that the government is in talks with social media companies on age-based access control and the growing problem of deepfakes. He emphasized the need for stricter regulatory measures to protect children and the broader protection of society from harm on the Internet.
It comes after the Australian government said a planned ban preventing young children from accessing social media would go ahead next month as planned, despite a legal challenge from a rights group, according to the AP.
The Sydney-based Digital Freedom Project has announced it has lodged a constitutional petition with the High Court of Australia challenging the landmark law. The legislation, which came into effect on December 10, bans Australian children under the age of 16 from creating accounts on designated social media platforms.
What did Vaishnaw say?
Vaishnaw stressed that all companies, be it Netflix, YouTube, Meta or X, are required to abide by the Indian legal framework and constitution. He pointed out that the problem of deepfakes is rapidly escalating and underlined the need for stricter regulation, reports PTI.
He added that discussions are underway with social media platforms to address concerns about deepfakes and age-based restrictions to determine the most appropriate course of action.
“… and right now we’re having a conversation about deepfakes, about age restrictions with different social media platforms and what’s the right way, what’s the right way,” Vaishnaw said during the summit.
Read also | High use of Instagram is “problematic”, not addiction, says CEO Adam Mosseri
The minister stressed the urgent need for tougher regulations to tackle the growing threat of deepfakes, noting that the problem is getting worse every day. He stressed the importance of protecting children and society from harm caused by such content and said discussions with industry stakeholders had already begun to explore what additional regulatory measures might be required beyond the current framework.
Vaishnaw, who also serves as the Information and Broadcasting Minister, further pointed out that a parliamentary committee had looked into the issue in great detail. He mentioned that building a broad consensus in Parliament would be essential to introduce significantly tougher restrictions on deepfakes to ensure adequate protection for society.
The Minister further noted that several countries have recognized the need to introduce age restrictions. He noted that such regulation has already been incorporated in India’s Data Protection Act (DPDP), where age discrimination has been introduced to control the type of content available to students and young users. He described the move as a progressive step he had taken at the time.
Read also | Spain, Greece consider social media bans for teens, drawing Elon Musk’s fury
He also pointed out that countries such as France, Australia and the UK have either introduced or proposed age restrictions and stricter parental consent requirements to limit children’s access to social media platforms and strengthen internet safety measures.
An Indian government economic survey last month suggested that age-restricted access to online platforms should be explored, along with reducing excessive online learning, to help curb digital addiction.
The inquiry, which was tabled in Parliament, recommended that online platforms be held responsible for implementing age verification mechanisms. It also suggested supporting simpler devices to access educational content that are child-friendly and equipped with appropriate safeguards to address the growing problem of digital addiction.
The survey said: “Policies around age-based access limits may be considered, as younger users are more vulnerable to compulsive use and harmful content. Platforms should be responsible for enforcing age verification and age-appropriate default settings, especially for social media, gambling apps, auto-play features and targeted advertising.”
(With input from agencies)