At AI Impact Summit, Macron Urges India To Join Efforts To Ban Social Media For Under-15

At AI Impact Summit, Macron Urges India to Join Efforts to Ban Social Media for Under-15

By FP News Desk

India is stepping up scrutiny of age-based restrictions on social media platforms, following Australia’s move to ban users under 16 from platforms such as Instagram, X, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday in New Delhi while addressing the AI Impact Summit, 2026.

French President Emmanuel Macron has called on India to ban social media for teens under the age of 15 as he addressed the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on Thursday.

Macron highlighted the safety of minors online during his keynote address, saying, “One of our G7 priorities will be, as well, children’s protection against AI and digital abuse. There is no reason our children should be exposed online to what is legally forbidden in the real world.”

Last year, France introduced a draft bill outlining a ban on social media for teens after Australia led the charge in making social media platforms inaccessible to minors.

“This is why, in France, we are embarking on a process to ban social networks for children under 15 years old, and we are committed to this journey with a lot of several European countries being present here today. Greece, Spain. I know, Prime Minister Modi, you will join this club. This is great news that India will join such an approach in order to protect children and teenagers,” Macron added.

India proposes social media ban

India is stepping up scrutiny of age-based restrictions on social media platforms, following Australia’s move to ban users under 16 from platforms such as Instagram, X, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday in New Delhi while addressing the AI Impact Summit, 2026.

Vaishnaw also emphasised the imposition of stronger rules needed on deepfakes, while expecting $200 billion in AI investment over the next two years.

“This is something which has now been accepted by many countries that age-based regulation has to be there,” Vaishnaw told AFP at the AI Impact Summit.

“Right now we are in a conversation regarding deepfakes, regarding age-based restrictions with the various social media platforms and… what is the right way to go about this,” he added.

Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh last week said that the government is planning to ban social media under 16 years of age, but Vaishnaw’s remarks are the first indication of national action from the world’s most populous country.

 

Original source: https://www.firstpost.com/tech/at-ai-impact-summit-macron-urges-india-to-join-efforts-to-ban-social-media-for-under-15-13981499.html