Children under 13 to be prohibited from creating social media, online gaming accounts? Here's what private bill proposes

In a bid to safeguard children from potential harms posed by social media and online gaming, a BJP MP has proposed a private member’s bill seeking stricter safeguards for minors.

According to the proposed private member's bill, children under 13 years of age could be prohibited from creating accounts on social media and online gaming platforms without verified parental consent, Hindustan Times reported on Saturday.

What does the SHIELD bill propose?

The proposed legislation, titled the Safeguarding Healthy Internet Environments for Little Digital-Natives (SHIELD) Bill, 2025, would require platforms accessible to minors to implement age-verification mechanisms. It would also introduce parental-control dashboards, enabling guardians to monitor their children’s activity, adjust privacy settings and limit screen time.

The proposed legislation defines a child as anyone under 18 and lays down specific safety requirements for social media apps, online gaming platforms and other digital intermediaries. It seeks to bar these platforms from tracking, profiling or targeting children with personalised advertising. In addition, platforms would have to take steps to prevent minors from accessing pornography, gambling, betting, violent or extremist content, as well as material related to drug use. Violations could attract penalties of up to ₹10 crore, while repeated or deliberate breaches may lead to temporary suspension or blocking of services under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act.

BJP MP Baijayant Panda proposed the bill, which was among two private members' bills scheduled for introduction in Parliament on Friday. The other sought to regulate the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) to create realistic imitations of individuals. However, both bills could not be taken up after the House was adjourned. Private members' bills are also rarely enacted into law, with only around a dozen having been passed by Parliament since Independence.

BJP MP's bill stalled twice

This is not the first occasion on which the BJP MP has sought to introduce the legislation. The Sunday Guardian reported that the bill was twice deferred in the Lok Sabha in February this year after the House was adjourned. The SHIELD Bill had remained listed for nearly three months and was scheduled for consideration in February. Earlier, the party’s National Vice President and Kendrapara MP could not introduce it during the Winter Session as disruptions prevented the House from taking up private members’ business.

Following the bill’s previous postponements, the BJP MP accused the Opposition of engaging in what he termed "unnecessary and mindless disruptions" in Parliament. He said it was unusual for private members’ bills, which are separate from the government’s legislative agenda, to also face hurdles. Panda pointed out that several Opposition MPs have their own private members’ bills pending on matters they seek to take up.

The renewed push seeking stricter measures to protect children comes at a time when countries across the world are now opting for similar measures. Last year, Australia became the first country to ban social media platforms for children under 16, a measure which was soon taken up for discussion in other countries, including the UK. China has some of the strictest digital safeguards for minors, including limits on online gaming and social media use. France and Italy also require parental consent and/or age verification for younger users, while Spain, Denmark, the UK and Malaysia have introduced measures to protect children from harmful online content.

However, India has yet to introduce measures as stringent as those adopted by some other countries, with growing calls from parents and advocacy groups for stronger safeguards for children online.”