Inside Australia’s Groundbreaking Under-16 Social Media Ban For India

New Delhi, December 11: Australia has begun enforcing what officials call a world-first national prohibition on social media use for individuals under sixteen, a move that has jolted global policymakers and reignited India’s own debate on online safety for minors. According to Reuters, the law requires major platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube, Snapchat, Reddit, Threads, Twitch, and Kick to block users below the minimum age or face fines of up to A$49.5 million. Existing under-16 accounts are to be deactivated, and platforms must deploy age verification tools ranging from facial analysis to behavioural signals.

Why Australia Moved Ahead With A Nationwide Ban

Australian authorities, as reported by AP News, argue that the ban is a response to intensifying concerns over youth mental health, compulsive engagement driven by platform algorithms, and the rise of cyberbullying. Officials say the measure is intended to give parents greater control and push young people toward healthier offline routines. That said, critics cited by The Guardian question whether age verification systems can be both accurate and privacy-preserving, warning that the policy may trigger new forms of data collection.

The rollout has also divided the technology sector. YouTube and Google, according to The Times of India, have contended that sweeping bans may push young users toward unregulated platforms, weakening safety oversight instead of improving it.

India Faces A Different Policy Landscape

In India, no equivalent statutory ban exists. As highlighted by Neeti Niyaman, minors are not legally barred from joining social networks. Instead, India’s emerging regulatory framework is anchored in the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023, under which all users under eighteen are classified as children whose data requires parental consent. Draft rules reported by VARINDIA and Medial reinforce this approach, proposing that platforms obtain parental sign-off before minors sign up.

Courts have declined to intervene directly. According to Wikipedia’s catalogue of global laws, the Supreme Court has previously indicated that broad restrictions of this nature are matters for Parliament, not judicial decree. Still, the policy conversation is active. Experts interviewed in The Times of India after Australia’s move stressed that India may be better served by digital literacy programmes and community-level training.

The Contrasting Approaches

Australia’s ban is designed around hard age-cutoffs and legal penalties. India’s evolving model focuses more on consent, data protection, and family supervision. And while Australian authorities defend a decisive public health intervention, Indian regulators face a vastly larger youth population and far wider socio-digital inequalities.

Still, the debate is catching on. A separate Times of India report on school debates found Indian students sharply split on whether a ban would reduce pressure and online hostility or curtail expression and social belonging.

What’s At Stake

For India, any shift as far-reaching as Australia’s would affect hundreds of millions of young users. Enforcement, verification technologies, and privacy safeguards would demand major infrastructure. But the broader question is cultural: whether Indian society views social media primarily as a risk, a developmental tool, or a space requiring guidance rather than prohibition.

For now, Australia’s experiment has placed the world on notice. How India responds may shape not just digital policy, but the everyday emotional and social lives of its young citizens.

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Ananya Sharma

Senior Political Correspondent – Ananya@hindustanherald.in – Web

Covers Indian politics, governance, and policy developments with over a decade of experience in political reporting.

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Australia’s Under-16 Social Media Ban Sparks Big Questions For India