Andhra Pradesh weighs Australia-style social media ban for children under 16 to curb fake news and online abuse

VIJAYAVADA: The Andhra Pradesh govt has formed a Group of Ministers (GoM) team headed by the minister for IT and Education to review existing laws regulating social media and to submit recommendations to be brought in at the state level to counter misinformation, fake news and abusive content against women and children.The GOM has taken up extensive study on various legislations in the country and best practices abroad. As part of the exercise, the GoM is actively considering adopting Australia's legislation banning social media to children under 16 years of age.Lokesh said that it is an important aspect in protecting children from unnecessary exposure to the content online as they do not have the maturity levels and cannot process the information at their age. However, as the social media regulation is in the centres ambit, the state govt is exploring options to bring in a special law at state level.The minister for home Vangalapudi Anitha, health minister Satya Kumar Yadav and minister for information and public relations is also part of the GoM.Speaking to ToI, home minister Anitha said that the GoM is in the process of doing statistical analysis of social media cases in which children are involved either as abusers or as victims.

Besides that, the state govt also roped in NGOs to study the psychological and behavioral patterns emerging in the children below 16 years of age.Anitha further said that the GoM will prepare draft guidelines which will be shared with the union govt also. "If required, we will request the centre to bring in a special law based on the statistical analysis and evidential studies being done by AP as the situation is almost same in every other state", she said.