India, March 6 -- Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday announced that his government will introduce legislation within 90 days, restricting children below 13 from using social media. The announcement came hours after his Karnataka counterpart, Siddaramaiah, announced social media would be banned for under-16s in his state.

If implemented, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh will become the first states in the country to restrict social media usage for children as governments globally seek to limit its impact on mental health, sleep, and safety. In December, Australia banned social media for under-16s. Some European countries have adopted or are considering similar restrictions. Britain this month sought the views of paren...