“I think social media must definitely be regulated, not banned, anywhere in the world. Because a lot of hatred, violence, a lot of untruth and fake things are propagated through social media,” Satyarthi, who is in the city to attend the Hyderabad Literary Festival, told PTI.
“We also see how social media is misused for trafficking of children, child sexual abuse; these things have to be regulated,” he said, when asked if he favoured a ban on social media for children in India, like in Australia.
The misuse of social media should be stopped, he said.
In India, the Andhra Pradesh government has appointed a committee to explore, among others, the possibility of restricting or banning children below 16 years of age from accessing online platforms.
Australia has become the first country to ban social media for children under 16 from December 10, 2025, blocking access to various platforms.
Satyarthi also said his organisation had fought for stopping and criminalising online child sexual abuse, which is an organised crime.
Observing that there is no international law to check online child sexual abuse, he said he met more than 20 Presidents, Prime Ministers and other top leaders for a UN Convention on the issue.
“It is not about the consumption. Consumption-related laws exist in the countries. There is interpol also, which is active on it. But there is no specific UN Convention or international law to stop the internet providers. Because they can check from the source,” he said.
While uploading and downloading of online child sexual abuse takes place, it goes through the internet providers, he said.
The internet or wi-fi providers (telecom companies) have to be held accountable, he added.
Satyarthi on Friday unveiled his book ‘Karuna: The Power of Compassion’ before its launch at the Hyderabad Literary Festival.
The book urges readers to view compassion not as a soft sentiment but as an actionable force capable of transforming societies.
Satyarthi said while the West has given concepts such as IQ and EQ, India is now offering the world a new concept – the Compassion Quotient (CQ).
He added that he would soon be launching a “new tool to measure CQ”. PTI SJR GDK SJR ADB
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
