Andhra Pradesh: Bill to curb kids’ social media access on anvil

THe Andhra Pradesh regime is workings come out a outline statute law seeking to introduce a comprehensive regulatory framework to restrict access to social media for children below 13 years and to design an age-appropriate digital environment for teenagers, officials said on Friday.A group of ministers headed by state education and information technology minister Nara Lokesh, which met in Amaravati on Thursday evening discussed the points of the draft legislation that balances digital access with child safety, creativity, and mental well-being.An official statement said the group of ministers emphasised the need for a graded, age-based content access to social media for users aged 13–16, ensuring that children are not exposed to harmful or inappropriate content.“The proposed legislative framework aims to align Andhra Pradesh with emerging global standards in digital child protection,” the statement said.Lokesh asked the officials to study the best practices from countries such as Singapore, Australia, and Denmark to build a robust legal and technological framework tailored to India’s needs.As part of enforcement architecture, the government is evaluating the use of secure age-verification mechanisms, including “age tokens” integrated with DigiLocker. This could enable platforms to authenticate user age without compromising privacy, a critical step toward implementing age restrictions at scale.Lokesh said strict action should be taken against individuals posting abusive or hateful content, particularly targeting women. He called for strengthening of enforcement under existing IT laws, including Section 46 of the IT Act and appointing of adjudicating authorities at the earliest.Recognizing that regulation alone is insufficient, the group of ministers suggested that the government roll out large-scale awareness initiatives across the state, including introduction of digital safety education during “No Bag Day” in schools, holding of awareness sessions for parents and students during parents-teachers’ meetings held twice annually; and outreaching women through self-help groups on online safety and cyber risks.“The initiative aims to build digital literacy alongside regulatory safeguards, ensuring a holistic approach to child safety,” the statement said.Representatives from major social media platforms briefed the group of ministers on existing safeguards for restricting sensitive content and handling user complaints. They expressed willingness to collaborate closely with the Andhra Pradesh government in implementing these measures.“The state will also seek public feedback and submit recommendations to the Centre on aspects that fall under the central legislative domain, indicating a potential pathway toward national-level policy evolution,” the statement said.The meeting was attended by ministers Vangalapudi Anitha, Nadendla Manohar, and Y Satyakumar Yadav, along with senior officials from general administration department, information and public relations, Cyber Crime, and AP Digital Corporation.Representatives from global and domestic platforms including Natasha Jog from Meta, Mira Swaminathan from Google, Japreet Grewal from X, Sagar Deoskar representing Snapchat, Tamoghna Goswami representing ShareChat, and Ramanujan Chakravarthy from Josh participated in the meeting.