Karnataka to ban social media use for children below 16, announces CM Siddaramaiah in Budget

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday announced a ban on use of social media for those under the age of 16 years, aimed at preventing its adverse effects on children. Though a cross-section of parents welcomed the move, they are wary of the practicality of its implementation.

"With the objective of preventing adverse effects of increasing mobile usage on children, usage of social media will be banned for children under the age of 16," Siddaramaiah said while presenting the state Budget for 2026-27 here. Later, addressing a press conference here, he said children below 16 years can keep a mobile phone, but they cannot use social media. "We will ban social media for them," he said.

Responding to queries on how will it be regulated - in schools, colleges or at home, Siddaramaiah said, "We will formulate a programme for that. Once the programme is finalised, we will inform you." In January this year, Karnataka Minister for Electronics, IT/BT Priyank Kharge had informed the Legislative Assembly that the state government was holding consultations regarding measures to be put in place for responsible use of artificial intelligence and social media, especially among children.

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The central government's Economic Survey tabled in Parliament in January this year said age-based access to online platforms should be considered while also cutting down online teaching to avoid digital addiction. Manohar N H, a resident of Jalahalli in Bengaluru who has two school-going children - a 16-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl - said that restricting social media for children below 16 may be good in some ways, but implementing it would be difficult.

"These days, teaching in many schools and colleges happens through apps. For instance, SSLC and PUC students-especially those in second PUC-already rely heavily on apps for classes and communication. Controlling social media use will be very challenging, particularly in government schools and colleges. The rule may be introduced, but I doubt it will succeed; the success rate may be only around 10 per cent," he said.