Jio Platforms flags social media ban on minors as potential business risk

Jio Platforms, the digital arm of Reliance Industries Ltd, flagged social media bans for minors as a potential risk for its business in its initial public offer documents filed on Friday.

“Any developments that restrict or limit the use of social media, including by minors or involving the online gaming industry or imposition of additional charges on data usage, may impact consumption of data by customers,” the company said in the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP). This may have an adverse impact on the company’s business, it added.

India, the largest user base for Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, has not banned social media for minors. In March, then Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah had proposed such curbs for those under 16 years of age.

Facebook had 403 million monthly active users in India, Instagram 481 million, and YouTube 500 million as of October 2025, according to data from data insights provider DataReportal.

In January, Australia became the first country to ban children under 16 from using major social media services including Tik Tok, X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and Threads. Most recently, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on 15 June he plans to ban social media sites for under-16s and impose restrictions on gaming and live-streaming platforms by spring 2027. Other countries including Canada, France, Germany, Spain and Malaysia, have initiated steps or plan to impose restrictions on social media for children.

The Economic Survey of 2025-26 by the ministry of finance noted that with near-universal mobile/internet use among 15-29-year-olds, access was no longer the binding constraint and the focus needed to shift to behavioural health considerations such as the rising problems of digital addiction, quality of content, wellbeing impacts and digital hygiene. It said younger users are more vulnerable to compulsive use and harmful content.

Data privacy

“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,” the survey said.

In March, experts had said that Karnataka’s decision was impractical because social media companies would have to collect more information than the minimum data-sharing prescribed in the data privacy framework to find out if a potential user is a minor.

India’s digital economy now contributes to about 14% of gross value added, according to Jio’s DRHP. This is fuelled by video streaming, social media and digital payments. As of Q3 FY26, average monthly data usage was 25.7 GB per customer, exceeding levels in developed markets such as the US. This figure is projected to more than double to 59.2 GB by FY31, it said in the DRHP.

Jio Platforms is looking to raise capital through a fresh issue of 270 million equity shares.