Andhra Plans Social Media Ban for Under-13s, Age Tokens for Teens

State Minister for Education, IT and Electronics, Nara Lokesh on Thursday called for the drafting of a legislation that balances digital access with child safety, creativity, and mental well-being.

Chairing a high-level Group of Ministers (GoM) meeting with senior officials and representatives from leading social media platforms, Minister Lokesh emphasised the need for a graded, age-based content access system, particularly for users aged between 13 to 16 years, ensuring that children are not exposed to harmful or inappropriate content.

The proposed framework aims to align Andhra Pradesh with emerging global standards in digital child protection, an official statement said.

Officials have been tasked with studying best practices from countries such as Singapore, Australia, and Denmark to build a robust legal and technological framework tailored to India's needs.

As part of enforcement architecture, the state government is evaluating the use of secure age-verification mechanisms, including "age tokens" integrated with DigiLocker.

This could enable social media platforms to authenticate user age without compromising privacy, a critical step toward implementing age restrictions at scale.

Representatives from major social media platforms, including Meta, YouTube, X, ShareChat, and Josh briefed the GoM on existing safeguards for restricting sensitive content and handling user complaints. They expressed willingness to collaborate closely with the Andhra Pradesh government in implementing these measures.

The state government will also seek public feedback and submit recommendations to the Union government on aspects that fall under the central legislative domain, indicating a potential pathway toward national-level policy evolution.

Minister Lokesh underscored that strict action will be taken against individuals posting abusive or hateful content, particularly targeting women.

Strengthening enforcement under existing IT laws, including Section 46 of the IT Act, was highlighted, with directions issued to appoint adjudicating authorities at the earliest.

Recognising that regulation alone is insufficient, the state government will roll out large-scale awareness initiatives across the state.

These include digital safety education during "No Bag Day" in schools, awareness sessions for parents and students during Mega PTMs (held twice annually) and outreach to women through Self-Help Groups (SHGs) on online safety and cyber risks.

The initiative aims to build digital literacy alongside regulatory safeguards, ensuring a holistic approach to child safety.

The meeting was attended by Ministers Vangalapudi Anitha, Nadendla Manohar, and Satyakumar Yadav, along with senior officials from General Administration Department, Information and Public Relations Department, Cyber Crime, and Digital Corporation.

- IANS