Karnataka proposes to ban social media for children under 16 years

The use of social media by children under the age of 16 will be banned in an effort to prevent the negative effects of increasing mobile phone use among children, announced Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in his Budget speech on Friday (March 6, 2026).

The Karnataka Government has been weighing the pros and cons of restricting mobile phone use for children under 16 years.

The decision comes after Australia blocked social media, including TikTok, Alphabet’s YouTube and Meta’s Instagram and Facebook, for teens since last December.

Several countries, from Denmark to New Zealand to Malaysia, have signalled they may study or emulate Australia’s model.

Andhra Pradesh is also considering such a ban, said Nara Lokesh, the State’s IT Minister and Minister for Human Resource Development.

Last month, Union IT Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw, at the AI Impact Summit, favoured age-based regulation for social media.