The Union Government is preparing a dedicated law to regulate social media access for children under 18, with senior government sources indicating a preference for a graduated, age-segmented framework over the outright bans that Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have separately proposed in recent days. The law, if introduced on the timeline being discussed, could arrive in the Monsoon Session of Parliament — and its design reflects a deliberate philosophical departure from how state governments and several countries have approached the same problem.
The Three-Tier Framework Being Considered
The government is considering a tiered system that categorises children into three distinct age groups with specific, age-appropriate restrictions. Children aged 8 to 12 are expected to face the strictest regulations, with a strong focus on parental supervision and limited usage. The 12 to 16 bracket would involve moderate restrictions with controlled access. Children aged 16 to 18 would face relatively relaxed restrictions, though usage would remain monitored.
Beyond age segmentation, the proposed measures under active discussion include time-based limits — prohibiting logins during evening or night hours or daily time caps drawing from China’s one-hour-per-day gaming limit model — along with mandatory parental consent for platform access and platform design requirements addressing engagement-maximising algorithmic features. The law could be introduced in the Monsoon Session of Parliament. Cabinet ministers have reached broad consensus on the need for some form of curbs, with the IT Ministry holding ongoing meetings on implementation. The government also wants public consultations before finalising the law. NBC News
These details originate from unnamed senior government sources who spoke to Indian Express, which broke the story. No formal MeitY press release, PIB notification, or named ministerial statement has publicly confirmed the three specific age brackets or the precise restrictions attached to each as of March 10, 2026. The framework should be understood as an advanced policy discussion rather than confirmed legislation.
Why the Centre Is Rejecting the State-Level Approach
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced during his 2026–27 state budget speech on March 6 that the state plans to ban social media for children under 16, citing adverse effects of increasing mobile usage. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has separately indicated a plan to block social media for children under 13, with implementation expected within approximately 90 days once the policy framework is finalised. The two state proposals use different age thresholds, creating an immediate inconsistency in how “child” is defined across two adjacent states. CNBC
The central government and the technology industry both prefer uniform national regulation for structurally sound reasons. As MediaNama founder Nikhil Pahwa observed, states are “showing up, like they did with Real Money Gaming, in important areas where the Central Government is floundering.” A technology executive told Indian Express that implementing geo-restrictions at the state level is “definitely difficult,” while different state rules would create varying compliance requirements for platforms operating nationally. Since internet platforms operate nationally and globally, state-level bans functionally require either central coordination or amendments to national IT rules to achieve any practical effect.
The constitutional basis for central supremacy in this domain is established. Under Entry 31 of the Union List in the Seventh Schedule, regulation of telegraphs, telephones, wireless, broadcasting, and other forms of communication rests exclusively with the Union Government — a framework that courts have consistently applied to internet regulation.
A government functionary articulated the Centre’s philosophical position directly to Indian Express: “The younger generation has more exposure, they are more aware, more mature, compared to previous generations. Hence, we do not believe in very harsh measures such as a ban.”
The Regulatory Foundation Already in Place
The proposed law would build on existing statutory architecture rather than starting from scratch. Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has confirmed that the government is holding discussions with social media platforms on age-based restrictions and digital safety concerns. Under India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act of 2023, platforms are already required to obtain verifiable parental consent before processing the personal data of users under 18 — a provision that places existing compliance responsibility on companies, even before the proposed tiered law arrives.
The Enforcement Problem That Neither Central Nor State Proposals Have Resolved
Critics across the policy spectrum have consistently raised the same objection: minors can bypass age-based restrictions using shared accounts, false birth dates, or VPNs. Karnataka’s own proposal was announced in a budget speech without specifying which platforms would be covered, when the restriction would take effect, or how enforcement would work. Officials have not yet detailed the age-verification mechanisms that would make any of these proposals functional rather than symbolic.
Child safety advocates have argued that digital literacy programmes and robust parental controls may ultimately prove more effective than blanket restrictions. The practical challenge is that age verification systems in India are currently weak across most platforms, and the identity-based verification systems that some policymakers have proposed would require significant infrastructure and data-sharing arrangements that raise their own privacy considerations under the DPDP Act. CNBC
The global precedents India is observing carry their own implementation lessons. Australia’s legislation restricting social media for children under 16 — the most cited international reference point — has generated sustained debate about whether the enforcement architecture supports the legislative intent. France, Spain, Indonesia, and China have each approached the problem differently, with China’s time-limit model for gaming being the most frequently cited as a potential template for India’s time-based restriction proposals. CNBC
The Centre’s preference for a graduated approach over a blanket ban is coherent as a policy position. Whether the graduated approach produces a law with effective, enforceable mechanisms — or simply a more sophisticated version of the same implementation gaps that state-level proposals face — will depend on what emerges from the public consultations the government says it wants before finalising the legislation.
The three-tier framework details are attributed to unnamed senior government sources as reported by Indian Express, corroborated by MediaNama, Kerala Kaumudi, and OpIndia. No formal government notification confirming the specific age brackets or their attached restrictions has been issued by MeitY or PIB as of March 10, 2026. Karnataka’s ban proposal is sourced from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s budget speech of March 6, 2026. Andhra Pradesh’s proposal is sourced from statements attributed to Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu as reported by ADGully and related outlets. All policy details represent proposals under discussion and have not been enacted into law.
