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On Friday (March 6), the Indian state of Karnataka, which is known as the tech state, banned the use of social media by those under the age of 16. Karnataka is the first state in India to take this step for minors.
Siddaramaiah, the Chief Minister of Karnataka, announced the ban in his annual budget speech on Friday but did not specify when it would come into effect.
Children’s increasing social media addiction and exposure to the internet have sparked debate and concern around the world. As a result, in December 2025, Australia became the first country to ban social media for children, passing a law primarily to protect safety and mental health.
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According to Reuters, European countries such as Britain, Denmark, and Greece are also studying the issue of excessive social media use by minors, but similar considerations are likely to take shape elsewhere in India. For example, the Indian state of Goa is considering similar restrictions, its IT Minister Rohan Khaunte said in January. The same month, the issue of regulating children’s social media use was discussed in Andhra Pradesh when a state legislator proposed a bill.
Less than a quarter of the population of the southern Indian state of Karnataka is under the age of 15, a relatively small number of minors compared to the state’s total population, according to a 2019-20 survey conducted by India’s Union Health Ministry.
A nationwide rural household survey, the Annual Status of Education Report 2024, found that more than 57 percent of children aged 14-16 in India use smartphones for educational purposes, while 76 percent of them use the device to access social media.
India is the world’s most populous country and the second-largest smartphone market with 750 million devices and one billion internet users, Reuters reported. The country is a key market for American tech giant Meta, which has the largest number of users of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp worldwide.
However, many experts believe that it is important for parents to be responsible in setting limits on their children’s smartphone use, as children can access social media through fake identities.
This article includes reporting from Reuters.
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