On curbing young adults on social media

Source: The post “On curbing young adults on social media” has been created based on “On curbing young adults on social media” published in “The Hindu” on 2nd July 2026.

UPSC Syllabus: GS 2- Governance

Context: The governments of several countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, France and Canada, are considering or introducing measures to restrict social media access for children below 16 years due to concerns over addiction, online harms and mental well-being. The announcement by Keir Starmer to ban social media for under-16s has also sparked similar policy debates in India, particularly at the State level, on balancing child safety, privacy and platform accountability.

Issues with banning social media for children under 16 years

1. Limited educational value: Social media is not necessarily an effective learning space, and its educational value for children remains debatable.
2. Lack of conclusive evidence: Scientific studies do not establish a uniform relationship between social media use and harm, as children respond differently to similar online experiences.
3. Diverse vulnerability: Children’s vulnerability varies according to social, economic and digital backgrounds, particularly in a diverse country like India.
4. Weak age verification: Effective implementation requires robust age-verification mechanisms, which remain inadequate.
5. Privacy concerns: Age verification enables platforms to collect sensitive identity data of children, raising serious privacy issues.
6. Easy circumvention: Children can bypass bans by using family members’ credentials or technological workarounds.
7. Culture of rule evasion: Frequent circumvention may normalise bypassing rules, potentially influencing future legal compliance.
8. Migration to riskier platforms: Australia’s experience shows that age-gating may push children to lesser-known platforms whose safety is uncertain.

Need for platform governance

1. Shift regulatory focus: Regulation should move from restricting children to holding platforms accountable for creating conditions of online risk.
2. Transparency in platform design: Platforms should be legally required to disclose their design practices and child safety measures.
3. Address addictive design: Since attention-based platforms depend on user engagement, regulations should curb addictive design features.
4. Create safer digital spaces: Platform accountability can ensure safer online environments without relying solely on access restrictions.

Challenges in regulating platforms

1. Government dependence: Governments may hesitate to regulate social media companies because they also rely on these platforms for communication and outreach.
2. Complex enforcement: Monitoring compliance with platform design standards is technically difficult and resource-intensive.
3. Selective enforcement concerns: Regulatory actions may face allegations of bias or inconsistent implementation.

Way Forward

1. Evidence-based regulation: Identify the most vulnerable categories of children instead of adopting a uniform approach.
2. Comprehensive regulatory framework: Combine platform accountability, transparency and child safety measures.
3. Privacy safeguards: Ensure that any age-verification mechanism protects children’s personal data.
4. Strengthen institutions: Enhance the capacity of regulatory and judicial bodies for effective platform oversight.

Conclusion: Banning or limiting children’s access to social media is not a standalone solution. A balanced strategy based on platform accountability, evidence-based regulation and strong privacy safeguards is essential for ensuring children’s online safety.

Question: Banning social media for children below 16 years is not a comprehensive solution to online safety challenges. Discuss in the context of platform governance and privacy concerns.

Source: The Hindu