According to an Indian Express report, the Goa government is currently considering introducing a regulation that would ban children below the age of 16 from accessing social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and X.
“Australia has introduced a law ensuring ban on social media for children below 16 years of age. People from our (IT) department have already pulled these specific documents. We are studying them. We will talk to the chief minister and if possible, we will introduce a similar ban on social media for children below 16,” Goa Tourism and Information Technology Minister Rohan Khaunte said on Monday.
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The Goa government is “studying” the possibility of implementing an Australian law banning social media for children under the age of 16, Goa’s tourism and information technology (IT) minister Rohan Khaunte said.
According to an Indian Express report, Khaunte went on to say, “Today, children are always on their mobiles on social media, whether it’s at the dining table or watching TV or around the family. The personal space that social media takes up is so big, which also puts a kind of complex in children. Australia has done it and we have to look at the country’s IT laws. But at the same time, it’s a nationwide ban, if it’s possible, if it’s possible. we’d like to do it to make sure things work.” good for the next generation.”
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Earlier last week, Andhra Pradesh IT and Education Minister Nara Lokesh said the Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-led government was considering an Australian-style law that would ban children under 16 from using social media. He added that a Group of Ministers (GoM), which he chairs, has been set up to examine the proposal.
Australian Online Safety Act
Australian legislation, known as the Online Safety (Social Media Minimum Age) Act, requires age-restricted platforms to take “reasonable” measures to identify and deactivate accounts held by users under the age of 16, prevent them from creating new accounts and block any loopholes that could allow minors to circumvent the restrictions.
The law also mandates safeguards to correct errors and ensure that accounts are not unfairly removed if users are incorrectly included or excluded under the rules.
Read also | The UK is considering an Australian-style social media ban for children
A 2021 report revealed that more than one-third of young Australians faced online bullying in a six-month period. Many teenagers, parents and trusted adults believe that the ban could help reduce cyberbullying, PTI reported.
Likewise, while teens may not have accounts on these platforms, they can still access content on many of them.
On YouTube, for example, people under the age of 16 can still watch public YouTube videos. They simply cannot subscribe to channels, like videos or post comments.
In early January, Britain’s Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the country was considering a move similar to Australia’s: banning social networking sites for under-16s amid growing calls to protect younger and more vulnerable users online.
“I’m certainly in favor of action in this area,” Streeting told Sky News, citing his own concerns about the impact of social media on children’s well-being and cognitive development, Bloomberg reported.
(With input from agencies)
