The global debate surrounding the impact of social media on young people's well-being is intensifying, with countries worldwide exploring measures to protect minors online. Following Australia's lead in December 2025, Spain has recently announced its intention to ban social media for children under the age of 16. This move has sparked discussions about whether India, a key growth market for social media companies, will follow suit.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced the ban on Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026, during a speech at the World Government Summit in Dubai, decrying the "digital wild west" where "laws are ignored, and crimes are tolerated". Sánchez stated that children are exposed to a space of "addiction, abuse, pornography, manipulation, violence" and that urgent action is needed. The Spanish government plans to introduce legislation to regulate social media content and will mandate that platforms implement age verification systems. These systems will go beyond simple checkboxes, requiring "real barriers that work". In addition, Spain is joining France and four other European countries in a "coalition of the willing for digital affairs" to regulate social media platforms in a coordinated way.

Australia's Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024, which came into effect on December 10, 2025, prohibits children under 16 from holding accounts on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, X, and Facebook. The law imposes significant monetary penalties on social media companies that fail to take reasonable steps to prevent Australian minors under 16 from accessing their services. Platforms that are age-restricted may face penalties of up to $49.5 million AUD. The Australian government has also launched an advertising campaign to raise awareness of the new law.

In India, an ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proposed a bill to ban social media for children, mirroring concerns about the impact of these platforms on young people's health and safety. L.S.K. Devarayalu, the lawmaker behind the bill, argues that Indian children are becoming addicted to social media and that India is a major source of data for foreign platforms. He believes these companies are using this data to create advanced AI systems, turning Indian users into unpaid data providers. Devarayalu's bill, the "Social Media (Age Restrictions and Online Safety) Bill," proposes disabling the accounts of anyone under 16. The bill is a private member's bill, meaning it was not proposed by a federal minister, but it could trigger debate and influence lawmaking.

India is a crucial market for social media companies, with a billion internet users and 750 million smartphone users. As of now, India does not have a minimum age for accessing social media. However, the chief economic advisor to the Indian government has suggested that age-based access limits should be considered, given the vulnerability of younger users to compulsive use and harmful content. He has recommended that platforms be responsible for enforcing age verification and age-appropriate defaults. While there is currently no law in India that regulates minors' access to social media or provides safeguards for their data, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, addresses digital personal data protection, including children's data.

Any move by India to restrict social media access for minors would have significant implications for global technology companies. Platforms like Meta, Google, and X rely heavily on India for user expansion and advertising revenue. Some industry voices argue that parental oversight is more effective than government bans, cautioning that restrictions could push minors toward unregulated online spaces. Meta has stated it supports laws for parental oversight but warns against bans that could lead teens to less safe, unregulated sites.

The debate in India is also focusing on concerns about enforcement, privacy, and federal authority. Questions remain about how age verification would be implemented and how to balance child protection with platform accountability and potential unintended consequences. As more countries grapple with these issues, the world is watching to see if India will join the growing list of nations imposing restrictions on social media access for minors.