New Delhi, March 6 -- Industry stakeholders and policy experts have reacted with scepticism over Karnataka's proposal to ban social media use for youngsters under 16 years of age, questioning both the legality and the practicality of enforcing such a restriction in one state of India.

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah unveiled the proposal along with the state's budget for FY27 on Friday, but did not share details.

Lawyers and policymakers Mint spoke with said such a state-level demographic-specific ban could require intrusive age-verification systems and may be impractical, since many children access social media through adults' devices and accounts.

Further, such a ban may also clash with the Centre's data-privacy framework, and ...