A spokesperson for Meta said the firm would “comply with social media bans where they are enforced”, but said similar protections should be required for other apps accessed by children and that social media should not be the only target. | Photo credit: Getty Images/iStockphotos
Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh on Friday (March 6, 2026) announced a ban on the use of social media by children under 16 and under 13, respectively. While Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the move was aimed at protecting children from the negative impact of social media, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said the state would implement regulations within 90 days.
However, the announcements may run into a well-known hurdle as internet regulation is the exclusive domain of the Union government.
“India’s digital and intermediary framework has largely been structured through central law, including the IT Act and the IT Rules,” Garima Saxena, an analyst at The Dialogue, a think tank that works with technology firms.
Recently, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the government is discussing age-based restrictions on social media usage, but has yet to indicate its implementation.
A senior official said the government would monitor how such a state-imposed ban works before reacting.
Ms Saxena said that while the state may still seek to justify the intervention “through concerns such as public order, public health or the welfare of children”, once such a measure goes directly to digital intermediaries or access to online services, it “is likely to face questions of constitutionality, overlap with central legislation and practical enforceability”.
Last December, Australia became the first country to ban social networking sites for children. However, this idea remains controversial because empirical evidence from a country may not be available to the extent required to justify its replication in other countries.
The Internet Freedom Foundation, a New Delhi-based digital rights advocate, said in a statement that “blanket social media bans are an inappropriate response that can do more harm than good” because they “often fail to address root causes such as platform design options that maximize engagement over security, inadequate data protection frameworks and poor digital literacy infrastructure, while limiting children’s right to and participation in information, expression.”
However, the idea is very compelling. The announcement by the two chief ministers coincides with that of Indonesia’s Minister of Digital Technology, Meutya Hafid. Ms Hafid carried out a “spot check” at Meta’s offices in Jakarta earlier this week, accusing the firm of lax compliance with disinformation laws. On Friday, it announced a ban on social networks for people under the age of 16.
It is unclear whether social media companies will oppose the state-imposed ban. A spokesperson for Meta said the firm would “comply with social media bans where they are enforced”, but said similar protections should be required for other apps accessed by children and that social media should not be the only target.
Published – March 6, 2026 11:50 PM IST
