Karnataka Government bans Social Media use for children under 16

First state in the country to impose such a ban !

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru (Karnataka): The Congress Government in Karnataka has banned the use of social media for children under the age of 16 in the state. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced this while presenting the state’s annual budget in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. With this decision, Karnataka will become the first state in India to implement a complete ban of this kind.

Presenting the 2026 state budget, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Friday, 6^th March, announced that children under the age of 16 will be banned from using social media. “To prevent adverse effects of increasing mobile usage on children, usage of social media will be banned for children under the age of 16,” said Siddaramaiah. It can be also be recalled that the Government has recently launched a campaign “Mobile Bidi Pustaka Hidi” to encourage children to read books and visit libraries.

Karnataka will ban social media use for children under 16, announced CM Siddaramaiah in the State Budget

If implemented, it will become the first state in India to take a clear step to restrict SM access for minors.

AP & Goa have earlier said they are considering similar… pic.twitter.com/cQslSzC6wr

— Sanatan Prabhat (@SanatanPrabhat) March 6, 2026

Earlier, the Governments of Andhra Pradesh and Goa had indicated that they were considering restrictions on children’s use of social media; however, Karnataka has become the first to announce a clear and firm decision on the matter.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stated that the decision was taken to prevent the harmful effects caused by the increasing use of mobile phones among children. Excessive use of social media is negatively affecting students’ behaviour, education, and mental health. Recently, Australia has also imposed a ban on the use of social media for children under the age of 16.