3 Things Calls to ban social media for kids, a looming agri crisis, and LIGO in limbo
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Mar 11, 2026 Soumyarendra Barik, tech and policy reporter at The Indian Express, explains why states are considering bans on kids’ social media and how enforcement and central rules could clash. Harish Damodaran, agriculture editor at The Indian Express, maps how West Asia tensions could disrupt fertiliser supply chains and threaten India’s crop inputs. They also touch on delays in building India’s LIGO observatory and what that means for gravitational-wave science.
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Global Momentum For Child Social Media Bans
- Several countries are moving to ban social media for underage users as a public policy response to mental-health and safety concerns.
- Australia led with a law forcing platforms to remove accounts under 16, prompting Europe and Asian governments to consider similar measures.
Implementation Gaps Make Bans Easily Bypassed
- Enforcement is the weak link in age‑based bans because teens can lie about DOB or use parents' IDs and facial‑verification workarounds.
- Early Australian data suggested millions of accounts were removed, yet surveys found ~70% of 10–16 year olds remained active on major apps.
Why State Specific Internet Rules Create Problems
- State-level bans in India face legal and technical limits because the internet is nationwide and platforms worry about inconsistent state rules.
- Social media companies prefer a central law to avoid patchwork requirements like different age thresholds across states.