VIJAYAWADA: Minister for HRD and IT Nara Lokesh has revealed that the Andhra Pradesh government is mulling a ban on access to social media for children below 16 years.
Speaking with Bloomberg in Davos, Lokesh said the AP government is studying the modalities of Australia’s under-16 social media ban, emphasising that youngsters below a certain age should not be on such platforms as they do not fully understand the content they are exposed to, and that a strong legal framework is required.
Reacting to these revelation, TDP national spokesperson Deepak Reddy said, “HRD Minister Lokesh has rightly highlighted the serious concerns surrounding the impact of social media on the mental health, and safety of young children. Children below a certain age are not emotionally mature enough to comprehend the negative and harmful content that is freely available online. That is why the Andhra Pradesh government is studying global best practices, and examining Australia’s under-16 social media law.”
Accusing the previous YSRCP government of blatantly misusing social media to launch brutal and derogatory attacks on women, Deepak Reddy said the NDA government of AP is among the first States to clamp down hard on such abuse. “The present initiative is aimed at protecting children from toxic content. The TDP stands firmly with Minister Lokesh ji in his efforts to safeguard children,” ‘he said.