Meta cautions bans may push teens to less safe, unregulated sites after K'taka under-16 social media curbs

New Delhi, Mar 6 (PTI) As Karnataka announced a social media ban for children below 16 years, Meta on Friday cautioned that governments considering such restrictions should be careful not to push teens towards less safe, unregulated sites or logged-out experiences that lack key protection.

Meta, in a statement, said it will comply with local laws like bans where enforced, but added that with teens using nearly 40 apps weekly, "targeting a handful of companies won't keep them safe".

"Bans need to be applied equally", the US headquartered social media giant, asserted.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday announced a ban on use of social media for those under the age of 16 years, a move aimed at preventing its adverse effects on children.

"With the objective of preventing adverse effects of increasing mobile usage on children, usage of social media will be banned for children under the age of 16," Siddaramaiah said while presenting the state Budget for 2026-27.

Meta statement said like lawmakers, the company, too, wants a safe, positive online experiences for young people.

"We want the same thing as lawmakers: safe, positive online experiences for young people. We believe parents should decide which apps their teens use, so we support laws that empower parents to approve teen app downloads at the app store level," Meta said.

Meta added: "Governments considering social media bans should be careful not to push teens toward less safe, unregulated sites, or logged out experiences that lack important protections -- like the default safeguards we offer in Instagram's Teen Accounts." Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, too, has said social media will be prohibited for children below 13 years within the next 90 days, in the state.

On Andhra Pradesh's move, Meta said the company's services are not available to children under 13, and that it already requires people to be at least 13 to create an account.

"The proposal in Andhra Pradesh relating to children below 13 therefore aligns with our existing policy," the Meta statement said.

In January, the Indian government's Economic Survey had said age-based access to online platforms should be considered, to avoid digital addiction and protect children from harmful content.

The Survey, tabled in Parliament, had said online platforms should be made responsible for enforcing age verification, and simpler devices should be promoted for children to access educational content with safeguards to address the rising problem of digital addiction.

"Policies on age-based access limits may be considered, as younger users are more vulnerable to compulsive use and harmful content. Platforms should be made responsible for enforcing age verification and age-appropriate defaults, particularly for social media, gambling apps, auto-play features, and targeted advertising," the Survey had said.

Last month, Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had said the government is discussing issues of age-based restriction with social media platforms to determine the way forward as he advocated the need for stronger regulations to protect children, and safeguard society at large from user harms.

Globally, too, several countries, including Australia, France, and the United Kingdom, have introduced or proposed age restrictions and stricter parental consent rules to limit children's access to social media platforms.

Indonesia is also moving in that direction now. On Friday, Indonesia's Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said the country will curtail social media for children under 16.

Such a regulation would ensure that under-16 users can no longer have accounts on high-risk platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox. PTI MBI TRB