Idea is not to ban social media but regulate it for teens: Priyank Kharge

Priyank Kharge says the move targets excessive screen time and online risks for children, stressing stakeholder consultations and age-verification challenges before framing guidelines

Priyank Kharge, Karnataka's minister for electronics, information technology & biotechnology, as well as for rural development & panchayat raj, says the recent proposal by the state government to ban usage of social media for children below 16 is aimed more at regulating what kids are exposed to in the world of web. In an exclusive interaction with Avik Das, he also talks about the challenges to regulate the sector and says that it should be a collective effort from all to keep children from harm's way. Edited excerpts: 

What is your opinion on your government’s decision to ban usage of social media for children below 16? 

The idea is not to ban social media but mitigate it for teenagers and regulate it. The issue is that they are having too much screen time and we're getting a lot of complaints on attention deficiency. I think every parent is worried about their child's screen time, whether it's on social media, gaming apps, or television. In addition, children are exposed to the darker side of social media, which has led to exploitation. People don't come out with it because of the social stigma or shame attached to it. 

I think ban would be a very harsh word. And it's very difficult to ban these things because, first, if we ban them on regulated platforms, people go to unregulated sites, which is even more dangerous. For example, when it comes to gaming, the Centre may have banned it but people have not stopped gaming. They are still betting, but it's happening on Chinese and East European servers, where even if you get caught there's nothing we can do.

 

How do you wish to regulate it? Also the secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) has said it needs to be examined whether such measures fall within the legislative powers of state governments.

 

Nothing stops us from recommending. We are not interested to chase away investors or our innovation. The regulations should be platform agnostic.

 

We will ensure we speak to all stakeholders — parents, legal fraternity, tech activists, and the platforms. We also have the Information Technology (IT) Act, which is a central subject. So, we will have to ensure we evaluate that subject to assess what powers the state has. We will form a committee whose objective will be to see to it that artificial intelligence (AI) and social media are used responsibly. These are not knee-jerk reactions.

 

At the same time, it is a big task and nobody is saying it is going to be easy. Especially because it's all based on age verification and you know how easy it is to verify age in India. But the idea is to ensure that we come up with a more conscious decision than anything else.

 

Technology experts and lawyers have been saying that implementing this will be difficult. What are some of the immediate challenges that you foresee?

 

The process has to be consultative and not a government diktat. This is also a great tool for learning. I cannot promote Digital India at one level and say you can't use technology. The intent is to put technology to a good use.

 

The foremost challenge is the legal aspect... Also whether as a state we can do anything. But I'm sure that good sense will prevail. The other challenge is the ID (identity document) part of it. It's very easy to get around the age verification behaviour. Parents and academic institutions also need to come forward and ensure that they keep the children engaged. The aim is to keep the children away from harm. But at the same time, we also need to ensure that they are not kept away from participation. We need proper regulations and laws. And everybody needs to come together for this. It just cannot be a government or a single line.

 

Are you planning to issue a set of guidelines?

 

I would not like to comment on what will be the guidelines and how we will be bringing it in. We will talk to all stakeholders and also take opinions from academic institutions. Also from the department of primary education. I think we should be able to get closer to the guidelines in the next five months.

 

The Centre referred to digital addiction in its latest Economic Survey. By being the first state to talk about regulating or banning social media for kids, are you trying to send any message to them?

 

Australia has done this and a lot of other countries are considering it. I don't think Karnataka needs to say anything. We are ahead of the curve when it comes to implementing policies with respect to technology. At the same time, we are the world’s fourth-largest technology cluster and hence we need to come up with policies that are relevant. The central government should have actually come up with these things.