MediaNama convened two roundtable discussions on age verification and restricting social media access for children in India, held in Bengaluru on May 15, 2026, and Delhi on July 31, 2026. The discussions focused on the feasibility, privacy implications, and operational challenges of implementing age-based restrictions on social media platforms in India, aiming to protect children while balancing their access to knowledge and participation online, according to medianama.com.
The roundtables examined various aspects including the harms and benefits of social media for children, parental responsibility, digital literacy, and platform design. Participants discussed international approaches such as those in Australia and Indonesia, and the UK’s Age Appropriate Design Code. They also addressed technical issues like false positives and negatives in verification, data collection concerns under India’s DPDP Act, and challenges posed by shared devices and cross-state implementation, medianama.com reported.
This initiative is significant as India grapples with protecting minors online without restricting their access to educational content. The discussions highlighted gaps in understanding social media’s impact on children and the need for a balanced approach. Lessons from global models provide a framework for India’s policy development amid rising concerns over children’s online safety and privacy, medianama.com noted.
The next steps involve evaluating different verification models and determining who should conduct age verification. The findings from these discussions will inform policymakers as India considers regulatory frameworks to implement age-based social media restrictions while aligning with privacy laws like the DPDP Act, medianama.com stated.