Social media ban alone won't work

Protecting children online calls for a range of measures, including improving parental awareness to monitor risky behaviour

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The Andhra Pradesh government is considering legislation to ban children under 16 years from accessing and using social media.

It has formed a group of ministers to examine the existing legislative framework in the country to regulate social media platforms. The power to regulate social media and other communication intermediaries is vested in the Union government under the Seventh Schedule, but states can enact laws covering cyberspace access by citing public order necessities. So, if the Andhra Pradesh government finds the grounds to legislate a ban, it will join a growing list of jurisdictions moving towards such interventions — Australia enforced this last year, while Denmark, France, and Malaysia are considering doing this in various forms.