Andhra to draft law to regulate social media access for children

Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh on Thursday directed officials to draft a comprehensive law to regulate social media access for children below 13 years of age.

The minister chaired a Group of Ministers (GoM) meeting with senior officials and representatives of major social media platforms, focusing on child safety and age-appropriate digital access.

“A graded, age-based framework must be developed to ensure children are not exposed to harmful content while enabling safe digital participation,” the state IT Minister said in a press release.

He stressed the need for a structured system for users aged between 13 and 16 years, aligned with global best practices to safeguard children’s mental well-being.

Officials were asked to study models from countries such as Singapore, Australia, and Denmark to develop a suitable regulatory and technological framework for the state.

As part of enforcement, the government is exploring secure age-verification mechanisms, including “age tokens” integrated with DigiLocker to authenticate users without compromising privacy.

The minister underlined that strict action would be taken against individuals posting “abusive or hateful content” online, especially targeting women, under relevant provisions of IT laws.

He also directed officials to appoint adjudicating authorities under Section 46 of the IT Act at the earliest to strengthen enforcement mechanisms.

Recognising the need for awareness, the government plans statewide campaigns, including digital safety education during ‘No Bag Day’ in schools and sessions during mega parent-teacher meetings (PTMs).

Awareness programmes will also be conducted through self-help groups (SHGs) to educate women on cyber risks and online safety practices, the release said.

Representatives from platforms such as Meta, Google, Snapchat, ShareChat, and Josh briefed the GoM on safeguards and expressed willingness to collaborate with the state government.

The state will seek public feedback and submit recommendations to the Centre on matters requiring national-level policy intervention, indicating broader regulatory alignment.