India is discussing age-based restrictions with social media companies, IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said Tuesday, following moves by Australia and other countries to ban young teens from popular platforms.
Vaishnaw, speaking at a global artificial intelligence conference in New Delhi, also said stronger rules were needed on deepfakes, while hailing an expected $200 billion in AI investment over the next two years.
Australia has since December required TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and a host of other top social media services to remove accounts held by under-16s, or face heavy fines.
Last month, French lawmakers passed a bill that would ban social media use for under-15s, which awaits a Senate vote before becoming law.
“This is something which has now been accepted by many countries that age-based regulation has to be there,” Vaishnaw told reporters 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 said.
A state minister in India’s Andhra Pradesh had previously said it was preparing the ground for a ban on children using social media, but Vaishnaw’s remarks are the first indication of national action from the world’s most populous country.
India last week tightened rules regulating artificial intelligence technology, requiring social media platforms to clearly label AI content and comply with takedown requests by authorities within three hours.
“We need much stronger regulation on deepfakes,” Vaishnaw said Tuesday.
“It’s a problem which is growing day by day. And certainly there is a need for protecting our children, protecting our society from these harms.”
Source: Insider Paper
