Goa moots ban on social media usage of children under 16 yrs
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Panaji: Following Australia’s steps, the Indian state of Goa is mooting a social media ban for children under 16 years of age over concerns of risks to their mental health, Reuters reported.
According to the report, India has a large share of social media users under the age of 18, but the nation does not have any restrictions on it.
It is learned that Goa is studying the Australian law to regulate minors’ access to social media plaforms.
Goa’s infotech minister told the media that the state will implement a ban similar to Australia’s if possible. The ban will be on children under 16.
Recently, there were reports that the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh is also moving towards implementing a ban on children using social media. The state recently set up a panel of senior ministers to make recommendations within a month after studying global regulation efforts.
Reuters requested comment from India’s IT ministry, Meta, Google, and X, and none of them immediately responded.
It was 2025, Australia became the first country to ban social media for children under. It deactivated 4.7 million teen accounts in the first month of implementation. The nation ordered to ban underage users’ accounts in TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook accounts. Companies that fail to comply face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars. The ban applies to ten large platforms. The government said the list may change as new services appear or as young users shift to other apps, reports from December 2025 suggested.
According to Reuters, France, Indonesia, and Malaysia are looking into bringing similar legislation and are currently watching Australia roll out the law.