Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, on Friday, March 6 announced in the 2026–27 State Budget that the government will ban the use of social media by children under the age of 16, citing concerns over the adverse effects of rising mobile phone use among young people.
“With the objective of preventing the adverse effects of increasing mobile usage on children, the use of social media will be banned for those under the age of 16,” he said while presenting the Budget in the Assembly.
The announcement comes weeks after Siddaramaiah sought the views of vice-chancellors on a proposal to restrict mobile phones and social media access for children below 16. He raised the issue during an interaction with vice-chancellors at the Karnataka State Higher Education Council in February.
Addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister said excessive use of gadgets was affecting children’s learning, behaviour and mental health. He also referred to developments in countries such as Australia and some European nations that have introduced similar measures.
“Today we are discussing this, and as you are all vice-chancellors here, I seek your opinion. Children are falling prey to drugs. Also, in line with various other countries like Australia, there is a thought to ban mobile phones among students. I want your opinion on this. We are looking at this,” he had said, adding that the proposal would apply to children below 16 and not to adults.
While several vice-chancellors supported the idea, some raised practical concerns, noting that many private and elite schools assign homework through mobile phones. Responding to this, the Chief Minister said his primary concern was students in government schools, and that they should not be misled.
Similar discussions are under way in other States. The Goa government is examining a proposal to bar children under 16 from accessing platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and X.
In Andhra Pradesh, the government has also indicated it is considering stricter regulations to limit minors’ access to social media. Education Minister Nara Lokesh said the State has constituted a Group of Ministers to review existing laws and has invited technology companies including Meta Platforms, X Corp., Google and ShareChat for discussions on measures to make social media safer for women and children.
