The Union Government is considering a separate law to regulate social media use by children below 18 years of age. The proposed approach is not a blanket ban on all children. Instead, it is a graded, age-based restriction framework, and the Bill may be introduced in the Monsoon Session of Parliament after stakeholder consultations. For exam preparation, the issue matters as a digital-governance and child-safety policy question.

The governance angle is the balance between access and protection. Social media platforms are linked with communication, learning and access to information, but concerns about child safety and excessive screen time have pushed the government to consider a differentiated regulatory framework. A graded approach allows restrictions to vary by age rather than treating all under-18 users alike. This makes the topic useful for understanding how the state balances child safety, digital access and regulation of social media platforms.

The static-GK linkage is the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. The Act already contains child-data protections, including verifiable parental consent before processing a child's personal data, a bar on processing that may harm a child's well-being, and restrictions on tracking, behavioural monitoring and targeted advertising directed at children. The proposed social media law would sit within the broader child online-safety debate, while focusing specifically on regulation of social media use. For RAS and UPSC, the topic can appear in Prelims under current affairs, governance and social media regulation, and in Mains through questions on the state's regulatory role, child rights and technology policy.