India may ban social media for teens, other countries are trying too but it's complicated

India is considering banning social media for teens, but it is far from the only one. Other countries that have tried to implement such a ban have seen mixed results as enforcing such a decision is not as simple.

In Short

• India may ban social media for those under 18
• Australia, Indonesia, and others have put such bans already
• Enforcing ban on social media is not so simple

India may ban teenagers from social media. During a hearing on Monday, the central government told the Supreme Court that it was planning to amend IT intermediary rules to stop social media platforms from allowing users below the age of 18 to create accounts.

The hearing was for a petition filed by NGO Just Rights for Children Alliance. As per a report by TOI, the government agreed with concerns raised by the bench and petitioner over teens using social media apps.

Justice Joymalya Bagchi said during the hearing, "They (social media companies) have registered under the laws of US and imported into Indian digital space the restrictions which are applicable in US (social media accounts for minors), which is impermissible under Indian law."

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta agreed. "They will have to conform to Indian laws and there is no doubt about it,” he said. “Something can be done, something should be done and something will be done.” For educational websites, however, the government says that it could allow access with parental consent.

India not alone in exploring this ban

If the government goes ahead with changes that would crack down on social media accounts for minors, it would join a growing list of countries that are trying to put in place similar plans. Governments around the world have grown concerned over the exposure of teens to social media, particularly over mental health.

These concerns have seen lawsuits around the world. In the US, Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, recently agreed to pay $18 billion in settlement over a lawsuit. The lawsuit alleged that the two platforms had harmed children. Though the company denies any wrongdoing.

Coming back to government-enforced bans, Australia was the first country to enforce such a blanket ban on December 10 last year. This ban directed social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube, to block accounts of all users under 16.

In March this year, Indonesia banned social media for teens. Like Australia, the country ordered “high-risk” platforms, such as YouTube, X, Facebook, Instagram, to block under-16 accounts. The Indonesian government cited threats from online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and internet addiction, for this ban.

Malaysia and Gabon are two other countries that have ordered a social media ban for teens under the age of 16. Brazil, on the other hand, has adopted a different approach. Instead of outright banning social media platforms, the country is allowing those under 16 to have an account on social media, but such an account must be linked to a parent or guardian.

More countries have also announced or held discussions about similar bans. Turkey’s ban for those under the age of 15 is set to take effect on November 1, while the UK plans to put an under-16 ban early next year. Greece and Denmark have also discussed enforcing bans next year.

India's discussions about a ban also has a higher age restriction at 18 compared to other countries.

But such a ban is complicated

On the surface, a ban on social media for teens may sound easy. But things get complicated when you actually try to enforce it. For instance, a teenager could simply lie about their age and continue using an app if there are no ways for verification. And verification is where the problems begin.

To verify, different countries have different systems. Australia puts the responsibility on the platforms, where they must verify the age of the user without any mandated system. Usually platforms rely on facial age recognition or IDs. But even after the age is verified, companies may keep track of your behaviour and whether it matches that of a teenager. Malaysia, on the other hand, uses the national ID system to verify your age. A user must show their physical ID along with a live face check.

But results have been mixed so far. Three months after Australia’s ban took effect, a study from Australia’s internet regulator, eSafety Commissioner, showed that eight out of ten children were still using social media. Among children who already had accounts, most were still able to retain or create them, with weak age assurance cited as a major reason, reports said. Though Australian authorities said that they had deleted millions of teen accounts following the ban.

Indonesia had a similar story. The government reported the removal of around five million underage accounts under its child-protection rules. However, as per reports, many children continued to access social media by entering false birthdates, or by using adults’ identification or accounts. In some cases, accounts of adults were also banned.

Questions have also been raised there about privacy. Age verification for putting such a system relies on official IDs. In France, the Constitutional Council – its top constitutional court – struck down the law passed by its Parliament to ban social media for children under 15, citing that it infringed freedom of expression and privacy.

India is yet to take concrete steps that would ban social media for teenagers. However, the hearing was not the first time when the government has hinted at doing so. Earlier this year, Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the government was in talks with social media companies for age-based restrictions. Some Indian states – Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka – have also announced such plans in the past.

If India does go ahead with such a ban, the government will need to come up with a system to verify the age of users. At the moment, the authorities have not mentioned how this will be done.

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