Now children below 16 years of age will not be able to use social media, know the whole matter

By Samira Vishwas On Dec 13, 2025

The digital world is expanding rapidly, and with it, global concern about children’s online safety is also increasing. In this background, a country has taken such a drastic step, which has attracted the attention of the entire world. The government has decided to impose a complete ban on the use of social media for children below 16 years of age. Not only this, under this, 10 major social media platforms have been blocked for minor users with immediate effect.

The government says that this decision has been taken keeping in mind the mental health of children, data security and the increasing risk of online exploitation. In the last few years, there has been a massive increase in cases like cyber bullying, screen addiction, spread of misinformation and access to inappropriate content. According to experts’ reports, excessive use of social media was having a serious impact on the behaviour, sleep and studies of minors.

Government officials said the move has been implemented with immediate effect, and the new age-verification system has been made mandatory for all platforms. The government has directed tech companies to adopt strong digital identity systems to verify the age of users, so that minors are not able to access restricted services in any way.

The order covers the 10 platforms most used by children—including messaging apps, short video platforms, photo-sharing sites and gaming community portals. Officials say these platforms failed to protect children’s data and did not have adequate monitoring mechanisms.

Reaction from parents and guardians to this decision has been mixed. Many called it the “need of the hour” for the safety of children, while some expressed concern that it could impact children’s digital learning process. However, experts are of the opinion that this step was necessary keeping in mind digital security and mental health.

The government has also clarified that this ban is not permanent. In the future, if social media companies meet new security standards and create a safe environment for minor users, some services may be opened in a controlled manner. For now, the aim is to create a safe digital environment where children can access online resources without any risk.

Along with this, the government has also emphasized on digital literacy programmes, under which children in schools will be trained about safe internet usage, online fraud detection and cyber etiquette.

This step is not only considered important for the safety of children, but it can also become a model for other countries in future. In the world of technology, this decision certainly sends a big message—technology is useful only when it is safe.