BJP MP Baijayant Panda has proposed the SHIELD Bill, 2025, a Private Members’ Bill seeking stronger safeguards for children on social media and online gaming platforms.

According to the proposed legislation, children under 13 years of age could be prohibited from creating social media and online gaming accounts without verified parental consent.

The bill seeks to introduce measures including age verification, parental controls and restrictions on personalised advertising targeted at minors. It also aims to strengthen protections for children from potentially harmful online content.

The proposed legislation comes amid growing international debate over children's access to social media and concerns about online safety, privacy, addictive design and exposure to harmful content.

Children Under 13 May Be Barred From Social Media Without Parental Consent | SHIELD Bill 2025

Snap has become the latest major social media platform to settle a high-profile child safety lawsuit, joining TikTok and YouTube. The settlement leaves Meta as the only remaining defendant in a growing legal battle over the alleged impact of addictive platform features on children and teenagers. The lawsuit claims social media companies knowingly designed products that harmed young users' mental health. Legal experts believe these cases could force major tech companies to strengthen child safety protections, improve parental controls, and redesign key platform features.

Snap settles Child Safety Lawsuit | Meta left alone as legal pressure mounts

Roblox, one of the most popular video games among teens, said it is to enact changes to its child safety features and parental controls for children under the age of 13 to access certain features. This comes after growing concern about child safety among parents.

The game has nearly 400 million log-ins each month, with most of its users being 15 or younger and one-fifth of the users below nine years. Roblox is facing accusations of failing to protect its millions of young users and moderating the content on the platform. The seemingly harmful video game platform with simple graphics and Lego-like characters, turns out a cause of worry for many parents.

A recent investigation by the New York investment firm Hindenburg Research discovered accounts trading child abuse materials, calling the platform a “paedophile hellscape”. They also discovered hundreds of accounts named after Jeffrey Epstein, a sex offender.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/lifestyle/news-this-country-will-increase-minimum-age-limit-to-use-social-media-to-15-to-protect-children-770305">This country will increase minimum age limit to use social media to 15 to protect children</a>

“We think Roblox has adopted the Silicon Valley approach of ‘growth at all costs’... by opening its platform to dangerous predators and illicit content unsuitable for children,” Hindenburg said.

However, the $26 billion company has denied any claims and said that safety is “foundational” to them with tens of millions of users of all ages having positive experiences.

“We take any content or behaviour on the platform that doesn’t abide by our standards extremely seriously and we have a robust set of proactive and preventative safety measures designed to catch and prevent malicious or harmful activity on our platform,” the company said. It also added that Hindenburg is driven by profit they would make should the Roblox shares fall.

The US National Centre on Sexual Exploitation, a conservative pressure group, earlier said that the game is “a tool for sexual predators”.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-trump-accused-of-groping-former-model-as-jeffrey-epstein-watched-the-twisted-game-770285">Trump accused of groping former model as Jeffrey Epstein watched the ‘twisted game’</a>

<h2>Child safety changes</h2>

Roblox Corp. has said that it will be introducing more features aimed at improving child safety on its platform. Children under the age of 13 will require parental permissions to access certain chat features, according to an email the company sent to parents, which was reviewed by Bloomberg. Users under the age of nine will require permission from parents to play games that contain crude humour or violence. Roblox no longer allows children under the age of five to create an account since September.

The company will also introduce certain types of accounts that enable parents to monitor their child’s activity and friends on the platform. The company is expected to implement these changes in the next month, according to reports.

(With inputs from agencies)

Roblox, one of the most popular video games among teens, said it is to enact changes to its child safety features and parental controls for children under the age of 13 to access certain features.

Roblox, one of the most popular video games among teens, said it is to enact changes to its child safety features and parental controls for children under the age of 13 to access certain features. This comes after growing concern about child safety among parents. The game has nearly 400 million log-ins each month, with most of its users being 15 or younger and one-fifth of the users below nine years. Roblox is facing accusations of failing to protect its millions of young users and moderating the content on the platform. The seemingly harmful video game platform with simple graphics and Lego-like characters, turns out a cause of worry for many parents. A recent investigation by the New York investment firm Hindenburg Research discovered accounts trading child abuse materials, calling the platform a “paedophile hellscape”. They also discovered hundreds of accounts named after Jeffrey Epstein, a sex offender. Also read | This country will increase minimum age limit to use social media to 15 to protect children “We think Roblox has adopted the Silicon Valley approach of ‘growth at all costs’... by opening its platform to dangerous predators and illicit content unsuitable for children,” Hindenburg said. However, the $26 billion company has denied any claims and said that safety is “foundational” to them with tens of millions of users of all ages having positive experiences. “We take any content or behaviour on the platform that doesn’t abide by our standards extremely seriously and we have a robust set of proactive and preventative safety measures designed to catch and prevent malicious or harmful activity on our platform,” the company said. It also added that Hindenburg is driven by profit they would make should the Roblox shares fall. The US National Centre on Sexual Exploitation, a conservative pressure group, earlier said that the game is “a tool for sexual predators”. Also read | Trump accused of groping former model as Jeffrey Epstein watched the ‘twisted game’ Child safety changes Roblox Corp. has said that it will be introducing more features aimed at improving child safety on its platform. Children under the age of 13 will require parental permissions to access certain chat features, according to an email the company sent to parents, which was reviewed by Bloomberg. Users under the age of nine will require permission from parents to play games that contain crude humour or violence. Roblox no longer allows children under the age of five to create an account since September. The company will also introduce certain types of accounts that enable parents to monitor their child’s activity and friends on the platform. The company is expected to implement these changes in the next month, according to reports. (With inputs from agencies)

Roblox, accused of child safety concerns, to enact parental controls

Snapchat is planning to introduce a set of parental controls for its users in India. This comes a few weeks after the parental controls were launched in the United States.

Tech Talk| Social media and teen safety: Snapchat rolls out parental controls in India

parental-controls

Parental Controls, News on Parental Controls, stories on Parental Controls, articles on Parental Controls, Parental Controls stories at Wion, Parental Controls news, Parental Controls latest news