Indian states are considering an Australian-style social media ban for children

India could become the next major test case for age-based social media bans, as states consider imposing Australia-style restrictions on children’s access to platforms amid a growing global regulatory push.

The campaign has begun at the state level, with Western Goa becoming the latest state to consider whether to ban children under 16 from using social media platforms. “Australia has passed a law ensuring social media is banned for children under 16.” He said Goa IT Minister Rohan Khunti this week. “Our department staff have already withdrawn those specific papers. We are studying them and, if possible, (will) implement a similar ban on children under 16 years of age to use social media.”

Like Goa, the southern state of Andhra Pradesh is also considering adopting the Australian approach. Earlier this month, state IT and Education Minister Nara Lokesh said, I suggest this stepSaying that officials are studying Australian law.

“I think we need to enact strong legal legislation,” Lokesh said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.

The Andhra Pradesh government has already done this form A group of ministers to study whether imposing restrictions or bans on minors’ access to social media platforms would be legally and practically possible. The committee is headed by Lokesh and includes key government ministers.

In addition to the two Indian states, this case has also come under judicial scrutiny by the Madras High Court urge India’s federal government in December will consider imposing Australia-style restrictions, highlighting how concerns about children’s online safety are driving regulatory discussions far beyond legislatures.

Any move to restrict children’s access to social media in India would have major implications for global technology companies, which view the South Asian country as an important growth market. Government estimates indicate that the Internet user base in India is More than 1 billionwith a large proportion of these users accessing the Internet at a young age, making the country central to the user and advertising strategies of platforms like Meta, Google, and X.

A Meta spokesman said the company shares lawmakers’ goal of creating “safe and positive online experiences for young people,” but said parents — not governments — should decide which apps teens use. “Governments considering bans should be careful not to push teens toward less safe or unregulated sites, or logout experiences that bypass important protections — like the default safeguards we offer on teens’ Instagram accounts,” the spokesperson said.

Pass Through the Online Safety (Minimum Age for Social Media) Amendment Act 2024 which was approved by Parliament in November 2024 before coming into force in December 2025, social media bans for under-16s in Australia have already exposed implementation challenges for platforms.

Last year, dead Notification started Australian teens that their accounts will be closed, indicating Difficulty in accurately determining users’ agesespecially when people aren’t always honest when they sign up. Law that too Twitch included But the exclusions of Pinterest, Discord, GitHub, Roblox, Steam and others have raised concerns about digital age verification systems, which pose privacy and security risks due to the sensitive data they require.

Australia’s move is being closely watched outside India, with governments in countries such as India Denmark, France and Spainbesides Indonesia and Malaysia Study similar limitations.

Kazim Rizvi, founding director of New Delhi-based think tank The Dialogue, told TechCrunch that while there is increasing pressure to regulate children’s social media use, Internet governance falls under federal law, meaning states cannot amend national laws like the Information Technology Act or the Digital Personal Data Protection Act. He added that some states, including Andhra Pradesh, are likely to seek central government support – an outcome that remains uncertain.

Aparajita Rana, a partner at corporate law firm AZB & Partners, echoed Rizvi’s view on state-level business limits, saying that while an Australian-style ban would be unprecedented in a market the size of India, sweeping restrictions risk pushing children away from regulated platforms and toward uncensored online spaces, potentially undermining the safety goals policymakers are seeking to achieve.

India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, Pass In August 2023, it includes specific protections for children’s data, which requires verifiable parental consent before processing personal data of individuals under the age of 18, and prohibits tracking, behavioral monitoring, and targeted advertising to minors. However, the operational rules for these The provisions are being implemented in phases until 2027giving platforms time to implement the required safeguards.

Google, Snap, and X did not respond to requests for comment. The Indian Ministry of Information Technology also did not respond when contacted.