India should consider age-based limits for social media access, economic adviser says

India’s annual economic survey presented on Thursday recommended age-based limits to be considered for access to social media and gambling apps to counter what it called “digital addiction” in the country.

India, a key growth market for social media apps like Facebook, YouTube and X, does not have a unified national minimum age for social media access.

The survey, unveiled days before Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman presents the federal budget, recommended families promote screen-time limits, device-free hours and shared offline activities.

“Platforms should be made responsible for enforcing age verification and age-appropriate defaults, particularly for social media, gambling apps, auto-play features, and targeted advertising,” it said.

Facebook operator Meta, YouTube-parent Alphabet and X did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Source: Reuters

- Agencies