India should ban social media for U-15: Macron; keep AI child-safe: PM

PM Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday spoke on the need to shield children from the harms of AI and social media. "We must become even more vigilant about children's safety. Just as a school syllabus is carefully curated, the AI space too must be child-safe and family-guided," Modi said at the India AI Impact Summit.

Addressing the summit earlier, Macron expressed hope that India would join France and other countries in banning social media networks for children under 15 years of age, emphasising that protecting children is about not just regulation but civilisation as well. He said there was no reason to expose children to content online that is legally forbidden in the real world.





Govts must work together for safe Net: Macron

The French leader struck a bullish note on India being part of AI revolution and benefiting from it. Backing India and Europe's AI aspirations, he said India had proved the world wrong after being told a decade ago that 1.4 billion people could not be brought into the digital economy.

On a ban on social media networks for children under 15 years of age, Macron said France is embarking on the journey, with several European countries also committed to it. Australia has become the first country to ban social media for children under 16 and, in India, BJP ally TDP has pushed for a regulation along similar lines.

"I know, Mr Prime Minister, you will join this club. And this is great news that India will join such an approach to protect children and teenagers," he said, referring to Narendra Modi who was in the audience along with other global leaders and tech bigwigs. IT minister Ashwini Vaishnav had on Tuesday said that India was debating the issue of restricting children's access to social media.

"Our platforms, govts and regulators should be working together to make the Internet and social media a safe space," Macron said.

He also emphasised France's shared vision with India to ensure access to AI for everyone at a time when it has become a "major field of strategic competition".

"Hegemony from any quarter is not a fatality. There is a path for innovation, independence and strategic autonomy. And this path, I'm convinced, is what countries like France and India must take together," he said, heaping praise on India for its advances in providing digital access, be it for identity or financial transaction, to its entire population. "That is not just a tech story. That is a civilisation story," he said.

"Access to Al for all is critical. France and India share a common vision: a sovereign Al used to protect our planet and to foster prosperity for all." He said the future of Al will be built by those who combine innovation and responsibility, and technology with humanity. "India and France will help shape this future together. We are determined to continue to shape the rules of the game. And to do it with our allies because we believe in core shared values."
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