Amaravati/Bengaluru: After Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh imposed a ban on social media for children on Friday.
Social media will be banned for children below the age of 13 in the state, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced during the day. The policy will be implemented in phases over the next 90 days, he announced.
The state government is also considering whether the restriction should be extended to teenagers aged between 13 and 16, Naidu said, indicating that further measures could be introduced after consultations and policy review, News18 reported.
The Karnataka government had announced earlier in the day that social media usage will be banned for children under 16. This announcement was made by chief minister Siddaramaiah.
The chief minister made the announcement while presenting the Karnataka budget for the financial year 2026-27, as reported by PTI.
The decision was taken to prevent the adverse effects of increasing mobile phone usage among children, Siddaramaiah said.
“With the objective of preventing adverse effects of increasing mobile usage on children, usage of social media will be banned for children under the age of 16,” the chief minister said.
The Karnataka government also announced several initiatives related to education and student welfare, alongside the social media restriction. The state government will fill 15,000 vacant teaching posts in schools and colleges during the next fiscal year, it has been reported.
Rs 565 crore has also been allocated in the budget for the construction of new classrooms and repair works in government primary schools, high schools and pre-university colleges. In addition, Rs 75 crore has been earmarked for building toilets in schools, while Rs 25 crore will be spent on procuring furniture for educational institutions.
