Published Mar 08, 2026 | 12:59 PM ⚊ Updated Mar 08, 2026 | 12:59 PM
Meta
Synopsis: After the Karnataka government announced a ban on social media for children under 16 years, Meta cautioned that such restrictions should be careful not to push children towards less safe, unregulated sites. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced that the state will ban social media use for children under 16 to prevent the adverse effects of rising mobile use among children.
After the Karnataka government announced a ban on social media for children under 16 years, Meta, in a statement, cautioned that governments considering such restrictions should be careful not to push children towards less safe, unregulated sites or logged-out experiences that lack key protection.
“Governments considering social media bans should be careful not to push teens toward less safe, unregulated sites, or logged out experiences that lack important protections — like the default safeguards we offer in Instagram’s Teen Accounts,” it said.
On 6 March, while presenting the state budget, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced that the state will ban social media use for children under 16 to prevent the adverse effects of rising mobile use among children. If implemented, it would be the first such ban in India.
The chief minister, however, did not specify when the ban would take effect or how it would be enforced, prompting mixed reactions from psychologists and digital rights advocates.
While Meta said that it would comply with local laws such as bans where they are enforced, it added that teenagers use nearly 40 apps weekly and that “targeting a handful of companies won’t keep them safe”.
“We want the same thing as lawmakers: safe, positive online experiences for young people. We believe parents should decide which apps their teens use, so we support laws that empower parents to approve teen app downloads at the app store level,” Meta said.
After Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh also announced a similar proposal, but for children under the age of 13.
Meta said that the company’s services are not available to children under 13, and that it already requires people to be at least 13 to create an account. “The proposal in Andhra Pradesh relating to children below 13, therefore, aligns with our existing policy,” they said.
In December 2025, Australia became the first country to ban social media for children under 16. The law places responsibility on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, X, YouTube and Reddit to take “reasonable steps” to keep children off their platforms.
These steps could include government IDs, face or voice recognition, or “age inference”, which analyses online behaviour and interactions to estimate a person’s age.
(With inputs from Anisha Reddy.)
