Meta cautions Karnataka’s proposed social media ban for under-16s could push teens to unregulated platforms

As Karnataka mulls a social media ban for children under the age of 16, American tech giant Meta — that runs popular platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — warned that governments considering bans “should be careful not to push teens toward less safe, unregulated sites”.

It advocated laws that give more power in the hands of parents to control the apps that teens can download.




“Governments considering bans should be careful not to push teens toward less safe, unregulated sites, or logged out experiences that bypass important protections - like the default safeguards we offer in Instagram’s Teen Accounts,” a company spokesperson said.

The Mark Zuckerberg-run company said it is also aims at providing a safe and positive environment for younger people when they are online. “We want the same thing as lawmakers: safe, positive online experiences for young people and believe parents should decide which apps their teens use, so we support laws that empower parents to approve teen app downloads on the app store.”

The company said it will comply with mandates announced by governments, but added that the law should be equal for every platform. “We’ll comply with social media bans where they are enforced, but with teens using ~40 apps weekly, targeting a handful of companies won’t keep them safe. Bans should apply equally across the many apps teens use.”

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said the state government is planning a social media ban for children under the age of 16 “to prevent the adverse effects of increasing mobile usage.”