Karnataka to ban social media for children under 16, says CM Siddaramaiah
PTC News Desk: Karnataka Chief Minister on Friday said that the state government is mulling to propose a ban on social media for children below the age of 16 years while presenting state budget for 2026-27.
'Social media will be banned for the children under the age of 16 years to prevent adverse effects of increasing mobile usage. The ban is aimed at preventing the negative impact on children caused by increasing mobile phone usage,' Siddaramaiah said.
The proposal comes amid rising concerns about excessive screen time, declining academic focus, behavioural changes, and mental health challenges among teenagers.
According to the government, unrestrictive screen time has majorly contributed to the rapidly increasing social media addiction, exposing children to harmful content and in some cases, substance abuse.
Karnataka State Budget has been caped at Rs 4,48,004 crore with focus on technology-driven growth, infrastructure development, and environmental sustainability.
Presenting the 17th budget, Siddaramaiah also criticised the Centre, alleging wrongdoings and injustice towards the state by not adhering to the federal system of governance as laid out in the constitution.
- With inputs from agencies
