A social media ban will not save our children, Pg6

Key Highlights:

• Three sisters in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, aged 12, 14, and 16, died by suicide on February 4, 2026, due to suspected screen addiction and parental conflict.
• Calls for a social media ban have emerged, mirroring Australia's 2024 law prohibiting under-16s from using major platforms, enforced by age verification and fines up to $50 million (Australian).
• Spain's Prime Minister announced plans on February 3, 2026, to ban social media for under-16s, with criminal liability for algorithmic amplification of hate.
• The article argues against social media bans, citing technical difficulties, impacts on vulnerable adolescents, democratic deficits, and gendered social inequalities.

Detailed Insights:

• Blanket bans are technically porous, easily circumvented via VPNs, and may push users to unmoderated platforms on the dark web, increasing risks of grooming and extremism.
• Social media provides a lifeline for rural, urban slum, LGBTQ+, and differently-abled teens, offering peer support and community access.
• In India, only 33.3% of women have ever used the Internet, compared to 57.1% of men, and bans may exacerbate this digital gender gap.
• The government should move beyond censorship and confront the economic power of Big Tech with digital competition laws and enforceable "duty of care" obligations.
• India needs public funding for research on social media's impact on children's well-being across class, gender, caste, and region, involving young people in the policy process.
• The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023's consent gating may lead to false declarations or exclusion of young users.
• Regulation should extend to Artificial Intelligence (AI), given its potential harm to children, including cognitive debt and child-safety failures in conversational AI systems.

Key Concepts Involved:

• VPN (Virtual Private Network): A technology that creates a secure, encrypted connection over a less secure network, masking a user's IP address.
• Digital Competition Law: Laws designed to promote fair competition in digital markets, preventing monopolies and anti-competitive practices.
• Duty of Care: A legal obligation to avoid acts or omissions that could reasonably be foreseen to cause harm to others.