GUWAHATI: Children below the age of 13 could soon be barred from creating accounts on social media and online gaming platforms without verified parental consent, under a new private member's bill introduced in Parliament.
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BJP MP Baijayant Panda has proposed the Safeguarding Healthy Internet Environments for Little Digital-Natives (SHIELD) Bill, 2025, which seeks sweeping restrictions on how digital platforms interact with young users. The bill was scheduled for introduction on Friday but could not be taken up due to parliamentary adjournments.
Under the proposed legislation, digital intermediaries would be strictly prohibited from tracking, profiling, or targeting minors with personalised advertisements. Platforms must also implement mandatory age-verification mechanisms and provide parental-control dashboards to monitor children's online activity and limit screen time. Additionally, platforms are required to take active measures to prevent children from accessing pornography, gambling, simulated betting, violent or extremist material, and drug-related content.
On the enforcement side, platforms found violating the proposed law could face penalties of up to ₹10 crore, and repeated or wilful violations could even result in temporary suspension or blocking of services under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act.
The SHIELD Bill was one of two private members' bills listed for introduction in Parliament on Friday, the other aimed at regulating misuse of artificial intelligence for creating realistic imitations of real people, but neither could be taken up because of House adjournments.
It is worth noting that private members' bills rarely become law in India, with only about a dozen passed by Parliament since Independence, so while the SHIELD Bill signals growing legislative concern over child safety online, its path to becoming actual law remains uncertain.
Similar age-verification and parental-consent proposals for under-13 social media use are also being debated elsewhere, including in the US Congress, and have already become law in countries such as Australia.