AP govt mulling ban on social media for children below 16 years, reveals Minister Lokesh at WEF

Davos: In an interesting development, Andhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh, while speaking with Bloomberg in Davos, revealed that the Andhra Pradesh government is mulling a ban on access to social media for children below 16 years in the state.

AP studying Australia’s example

Discussing the issue, Minister Lokesh revealed that the AP government is studying Australia’s decision to ban children under the age of 16 from accessing social media, noting that youngsters below a certain age should not be on such platforms as they do not fully understand the content they are exposed to and that a strong legal framework may be required.

TDP hails move

Reacting to these remarks, TDP National Spokesperson Deepak Reddy said, “Minister Nara Lokesh ji has rightly highlighted the serious concerns surrounding the impact of social media on the mental health and safety of young children. Children below a certain age are not emotionally mature enough to comprehend the harmful content that is freely available online. That is why the Andhra Pradesh government is studying global best practices and examining Australia’s under-16 social media law.”

He further added, “During the previous YSRCP government, social media was blatantly misused to launch brutal and derogatory attacks against women, including women from political parties, and Andhra Pradesh was among the first states to clamp down hard on such abuse. In the same spirit, the present initiative is aimed at protecting children from toxic content and online negativity. The Telugu Desam Party stands firmly with Minister Lokesh ji in his efforts to safeguard children and promote responsible use of social media.”