Author: Manoj Kumar and Munsif Vengattil
NEW DELHI, Jan 29 (Reuters) – India’s top economic adviser has proposed age-based restrictions on access to social media platforms, which he believes are “predatory” in the way they keep users online, suggesting Meta and YouTube could take a hit in their largest user markets.
The shift would bring India in line with a growing global trend after Australia became the first country to ban social media for children under 16 last year.
France’s National Assembly on Monday backed legislation to ban social media use by children under 15, while the UK, Denmark and Greece are studying the issue.
The consultant V. Anantha Nageswaran recommended in India’s Annual Economic Survey that households advocate limiting screen time, time without electronic devices and sharing offline activities.
“Age-based access restriction policies could be considered as younger users are more susceptible to compulsive use and harmful content,” he wrote in the survey released Thursday.
“Platforms should be responsible for enforcing age verification and age-appropriate defaults.”
India is a huge market for social media companies
The recommendations are non-binding but are reflected in policy discussions in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. Past proposals have promoted tax reform, loosened rules on Chinese investment and strengthened digital infrastructure.
India, the world’s second-largest smartphone market with 750 million devices and 1 billion internet users, is a major growth market for social media apps and has no minimum age.
Research firm DataReportal said YouTube has 500 million users in India, Facebook has 403 million users and Instagram has 481 million users.
Facebook operator Meta, YouTube parent Alphabet and X did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Meta has previously expressed support for parental oversight laws, while adding: “Governments considering bans should be careful not to push teenagers to less safe, unregulated sites.”
New Delhi has repeatedly clashed with social media companies like Meta and X over the years over issues such as content moderation, local data storage, user security and failure to comply with content removal orders in a timely manner.
At a press conference on Thursday, Nageswaran called the platforms “predatory” in their approach to maximizing user engagement and the time users spend, adding that “such algorithms particularly target young people between the ages of 15 and 24.”
Cheap telecom data plans have driven the use of social media apps in recent years, with 75% of young smartphone users using them, the survey reported.
“Digital addiction can negatively impact academic performance and productivity due to distraction, ‘sleep debt’ and poor concentration,” Nageswaran added.
‘Children caught in ruthless use’
The recommendation comes in the wake of ongoing efforts by Indian states to limit the amount of time young people can watch television.
The coastal states of Goa and the southern state of Andhra Pradesh said they were studying Australia’s regulatory framework with an eye on similar bans for children.
“Trust in social media is collapsing,” Andhra Pradesh Information Technology Minister Nara Lokesh wrote on X on Thursday. He said the state would look into a legal framework for age-appropriate access.
“Children are being sucked into ruthless use, affecting their attention and education.”
“We are very pleased” that the two states are considering restrictions on children, Nagswaran said.
Some activists and technology experts have called for measures to help children and parents use social media healthily and safely, saying age-based restrictions don’t work because children can use false IDs to get around them.
(Reporting by Manoj Kumar, Aditi Shah, Arpan Chaturvedi, Munsif Vengattil; Writing by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Neil Fullick, Clarence Fernandez, Philippa Fletcher)