Now Reading: BJP MP bills seek age checks for children, curb AI deepfakes
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BJP MP bills seek age checks for children, curb AI deepfakes
BJP MP Baijayant Panda proposed two private member's bills in Parliament on Friday, though repeated adjournments prevented their introduction. The Safeguarding Healthy Internet Environments for Little Digital-Natives (SHIELD) Bill, 2025, would bar…
The Story in Brief
BJP MP Baijayant Panda proposed two private member's bills in Parliament on Friday, though repeated adjournments prevented their introduction. The Safeguarding Healthy Internet Environments for Little Digital-Natives (SHIELD) Bill, 2025, would bar children under 13 from creating social media or gaming accounts without verified parental consent. Platforms could not track, profile, or target minors with personalised ads. The bill defines a child as anyone below 18 and mandates parental-control dashboards, a 90-day data retention limit after account inactivity, and removal of harmful content within 36 hours (24 hours for child sexual abuse material). Violators face penalties up to ₹10 crore. The Protection of Personality Likeness from Artificial Intelligence Misuse Bill, 2026, would prohibit non-consensual AI-generated imitations that mislead the public. It prescribes a 24-hour takedown deadline (12 hours for explicit material) and up to three years in prison or ₹10 lakh fine for offenders.
Hindustan Times reports that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is separately considering age-based restrictions for children on social media.
The Indian Opinion
The SHIELD Bill and the AI likeness Bill are welcome steps, but the real test is enforcement. The panic around “Big Tech running wild” is as lazy as the suspicion that the government wants to snoop. Neither bill bans platforms, it demands accountability. The 36-hour takedown rule is tight; 24 hours for CSAM is sensible. Watch if MeitY adopts similar rules or if these bills gather dust. A ₹10 crore penalty is steep, will anyone actually pay it?
Source: hindustantimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
