A roundtable discussion on age verification and restricting social media access for children will be held on July 31, 2026, at The Claridges in New Delhi. The event will examine proposals from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, and the central government to introduce age-based restrictions on children’s access to digital platforms, aiming to address concerns about online safety and regulation, according to medianama.com.
The discussion, scheduled from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM, will explore how age verification systems could be implemented and enforced in India. Participants will also debate whether platform design regulation might be a more effective alternative to blanket bans on children’s social media use. The event is invite-only and will be held under the Chatham House Rule, with confirmed speakers including Apar Gupta, founder of the Internet Freedom Foundation, and Dr. Yatan Pal Singh Balhara, professor of psychiatry at AIIMS, medianama.com reports.
This roundtable comes amid growing regulatory interest in protecting children online, with several Indian states and the central government proposing measures to restrict social media access based on age. The discussion will also consider global regulatory developments and their implications for India’s approach. The involvement of experts from law, psychiatry, and technology highlights the multidisciplinary nature of the issue and the complexity of balancing safety with digital rights, medianama.com states.
The event will begin with lunch and networking at 12:30 PM, followed by the roundtable discussion from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM at Viceroy Hall, The Claridges, New Delhi. Applications to join the discussion are open but limited, with a waitlist expected once seats are filled, medianama.com confirms.