AP plans restricting social media access to children under 13

Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu Friday told the assembly that the state govt was considering restricting social media access to children below 13 years. He said the plan would be rolled out within 90 days.The proposal was based on recommendations submitted by state IT and HRD minister Nara Lokesh, who studied the issue of unchecked content on social media. Naidu added the govt was also discussing possible regulations for the 13–16 age group and he would take a decision after wider consultations. The chief minister said the objective was to ensure that children were not adversely affected by social media exposure and assured necessary measures would be taken to safeguard their well-being.The state govt earlier constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) on the issue to study various policies and possibilities to bring in reasonable restrictions. The GoM held multiple rounds of discussions with stakeholders and studied various policies abroad.Social media intermediaries were also invited to participate in the next GoM meeting. As putting a blanket ban on social media may not be easy to enforce, the state govt is asking social media platforms to bring in more stringent norms to verify the age of the users while opening accounts.This includes asking for proof of identity and age. Lokesh also proposed to bring in more advanced algorithms so that the platforms do not show the content inappropriate to users of a certain age.Home minister V Anitha, who is part of the GoM, earlier told TOI that they were taking a multi-pronged approach to tackle the issue. She said the state govt was planning to bring legislation which would be sent to the Union govt for approval if required. She also said they would also hold wider consultations to adopt guidelines nationally and to bring a uniform policy.