India, Aug. 8 -- Children under 13 could be barred from creating accounts on social media and online gaming platforms without verified parental consent, while platforms could be prohibited from tracking, profiling or targeting minors with personalised advertising, according to a proposed private member's bill.

The Safeguarding Healthy Internet Environments for Little Digital-Natives (SHIELD) Bill, 2025, also proposes mandatory age-verification systems for platforms accessible to minors and parental-control dashboards that would allow guardians to monitor activity, manage privacy settings and restrict screen time.

The bill, proposed by BJP MP Baijayant Panda, was among two private members' bills that were scheduled to be introduced in th...