India Considers Under-16 Social Media Ban Amid 'Digital Addiction' Concerns

• A Modi ally, L.S.K. Devarayalu, has proposed a bill to ban social media for children under 16 in India.
• The move follows similar actions in Australia and France, highlighting a global debate on social media's impact on youth.
• Devarayalu argues that Indian children are becoming addicted and their data is being exploited by foreign platforms for AI development.
• The proposed bill places the onus on social media platforms to verify users' ages and disable accounts of those under 16.
• India, with 750 million smartphones and a billion internet users, is a major market for social media, currently without a minimum age for access.

Why It Matters: India is debating a social media ban for under-16s, joining global efforts to curb digital addiction and data exploitation.