Children under 13 to be prohibited from creating social media, online gaming accounts? Here's what private bill proposes
BJP MP Baijayant Panda has proposed the SHIELD Bill, 2025, seeking stricter online safeguards for children, including age verification, parental controls and restrictions on personalised advertising. The bill has previously stalled twice and proposes penalties for platforms
A BJP MP has proposed a private member's bill to prohibit children under 13 from creating social media and online gaming accounts without parental consent, according to Hindustan Times. The bill, titled the Safeguarding Healthy Internet Environments for Little Digital-Natives (SHIELD) Bill 2025, would require digital platforms to implement age-verification measures, parental-control dashboards, and limit screen time.
The bill defines a child as anyone under 18 and aims to prevent platforms from tracking, profiling, or targeting children with personalized advertising. The bill also seeks to protect minors from accessing harmful content, with penalties of up to ₹10 crore for violations. BJP MP Baijayant Panda introduced the bill for the second time, but it could not be taken up as the House was adjourned.
The proposal is part of a growing trend worldwide, with countries like Australia, China, France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, the UK, and Malaysia implementing similar measures. However, India has yet to introduce stringent measures to protect children online.
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