An Indian parliamentarian has proposed a bill that prohibits children under 16 from accessing social networks, in the context of concerns related to the health and safety of young people.

L.S.K. Devarayalu, an allied parliamentarian of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has submitted a bill in India to prohibit access to social media for children under 16, citing the dependency of young people on these platforms and the use of their data by foreign technology companies. India, with 750 million smartphones and a billion internet users, currently has no legal minimum age for access to social media. The bill, titled Social Media (Age Restrictions and Online Safety) Bill, requires platforms to deactivate accounts of users under 16 and to verify their age. This comes in the context where other countries, such as Australia and France, have adopted similar measures. Although the bill is a "private member’s bill," meaning it is not initiated by the government, the proposal may influence parliamentary debates and future legislation.