Bharatiya Janata Party MP Baijayant Panda introduced the Safeguarding Healthy Internet Environments for Little Digital-Natives (SHIELD) Bill, 2025, proposing a ban on social media accounts for children under 13 without parental approval. The bill also mandates age-verification systems and parental control dashboards to monitor and manage minors' social media use, according to medianama.com.
The SHIELD Bill requires social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat to implement mandatory age-verification systems. It also proposes parental-control dashboards enabling guardians to monitor activity, manage privacy settings, and restrict screen time. The bill imposes safety obligations on platforms to protect children from harmful content such as pornography, gambling, violent or extremist material, and drug-related content. Platforms would be prohibited from tracking, profiling, and personalized advertising targeting children, per medianama.com.
The bill aims to enhance child safety online by regulating digital intermediaries and social media platforms accessible to minors. It includes provisions to temporarily suspend or block platforms under Section 69A for repeated or willful violations. This legislative effort aligns with growing global concerns about children’s exposure to harmful online content and data privacy, positioning India alongside countries considering stricter digital protections for minors, medianama.com reports.
The SHIELD Bill, introduced in 2025, awaits further parliamentary consideration. Its passage would mark a significant regulatory step in India’s approach to protecting children online, with enforcement mechanisms tied to existing legal provisions such as Section 69A of the IT Act, medianama.com states.