Andhra Pradesh to draft law to restrict social media access to 13 year olds

Andhra Pradesh will draft a law to restrict social media access to children below 13 years and design an age-appropriate digital environment for children.

The state government is considering the introduction of secure age verification mechanisms, including "age tokens" integrated with DigiLocker, as part of the enforcement architecture. This could enable platforms to authenticate user age without compromising privacy, a critical step toward implementing age restrictions at scale. Andhra Pradesh government has been considering a social media ban for teenagers, and a Group of Ministers led by state IT and electronics minister Nara Lokesh has been examining this move.

Also read: Centre logs into chat on social media child lock


Lokesh has directed officials to prepare a comprehensive regulatory framework to restrict access to social media for children below 13 years and to design an age-appropriate digital environment for teenagers.

Chairing a meeting of GoM on Thursday with senior officials and representatives from leading social media platforms, the Minister called for the drafting of a legislation that balances digital access with child safety, creativity, and mental well-being. The proposed framework aims to align Andhra Pradesh with emerging global standards in digital child protection.

Officials will be studying best practices from countries incluing Singapore, Australia, and Denmark to build a robust legal and technological framework tailored to India’s needs.