Andhra Pradesh Government Considers Restricting Social Media Access for Children Under 13

VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has said his government is considering steps to restrict social media access for children below 13 years of age. Speaking in the Legislative Assembly on Friday, Naidu said the government will soon launch a programme to prevent children from accessing social media, while mentioning the proposal suggested by HRD and IT Minister Nara Lokesh. Making it clear that concrete steps will be taken to restrict social media access for children below 13 years within the next 90 days, the Chief Minister said the government will also discuss curtailing the social media usage for children between 13 and 16 years of age. Naidu asserted that the government will make sincere efforts in the direction of ensuring children are not negatively affected by social media. Earlier in the day, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah while presenting the State Budget for 2026-27, proposed a ban on social media access for children below 16 years. Responding to the move of the Karnataka government, Lokesh wrote on X, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Glad to see Karnataka considering restrictions on social media for those under 16 - an idea we had proposed earlier in Andhra Pradesh to protect young minds from the darker side of the digital world. Sometimes good ideas travel fast. Wishing them success in taking it forward.” In fact, it is Lokesh, who initially mooted the idea of restricting social media for children and also convened meetings with officials to study the implementation of the social media ban in Australia and other nations, so as to evolve an effective model for AP. The Group of Ministers (GoM) constituted by the government, has also discussed the ban on social media access for children. A post shared by Tnie Andhra Pradesh (@xpress_andhrapradesh)