UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — On curbing young adults on social media

Q1. With reference to India's Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, consider the following as its provisions concerning children. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

1. It defines a 'child' as an individual who has not completed eighteen years of age.
2. It requires verifiable consent of a parent or lawful guardian before processing a child's personal data.
3. It prohibits behavioural monitoring and targeted advertising directed at children.
4. It bars children below sixteen years from creating a social media account.

• A. 1 and 2 only
• B. 1, 2 and 3
• C. 2, 3 and 4
• D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q2. Consider the following statements comparing India's DPDP Act, 2023 with earlier child-protection regimes. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. The age below which a person is treated as a 'child' under the DPDP Act is higher than the digital-consent age set by the EU's GDPR.
2. Unlike the US COPPA, which applies to those under 13, the DPDP Act's child-protection provisions cover all persons under 18.
3. The nodal ministry for implementing the DPDP Act is the Ministry of Home Affairs.

• A. 1 and 2 only
• B. 2 and 3 only
• C. 1 and 3 only
• D. 1, 2 and 3

Q3. The world's first national law to lift the minimum age for holding a social media account to 16 was enacted under which one of the following statutes?

• A. Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 (Australia)
• B. Online Safety Act 2023 (United Kingdom)
• C. Digital Services Act (European Union)
• D. Kids Online Safety Act (United States)

Q4. In the context of France's 2026 social media legislation, the term 'digital majority' most precisely refers to:

• A. The age (15) below which a minor requires verified parental consent to register on a social network
• B. The minimum age (18) at which a person may independently operate a digital payment wallet
• C. The share of citizens who transact primarily through government digital services
• D. The threshold number of users above which a platform is treated as a 'very large online platform'

Q5. Which single authority is the lead regulator responsible for enforcing Australia's under-16 social media age restriction?

• A. The eSafety Commissioner
• B. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA)
• C. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)
• D. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)

Q6. Australia's requirement that age-restricted platforms take reasonable steps to keep under-16s off their services came into force in which month and year?

• A. December 2025
• B. November 2024
• C. March 2026
• D. June 2026

Q7. The May 2026 guidance titled 'Getting Children's Safety Online Right', which held that banning children from social media 'is not the answer', was issued by which one of the following?

• A. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
• B. UNICEF
• C. UNESCO
• D. The UN Human Rights Council

Q8. The UN's 2026 call to make platforms 'safe by design' rather than ban children draws its principal rights basis from which one of the following instruments?

• A. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
• B. The Budapest Convention on Cybercrime
• C. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
• D. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, exclusively

Q9. Which one of the following was the first major national law to restrict the online collection of personal data from children under 13?

• A. The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), 1998 — United States
• B. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), 2016 — European Union
• C. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 — India
• D. The Online Safety Act, 2023 — United Kingdom

Q10. In the debate between user-restriction bans and risk-based platform governance, which one of the following best represents the flagship 'safe by design' alternative advocated by the UN?

• A. Obliging platforms to redesign features — e.g. removing infinite scroll and autoplay — so risks are engineered out at the design stage
• B. Blocking all users under 18 through national internet firewalls
• C. Mandating Aadhaar/KYC verification for every internet user
• D. Prohibiting households with minors from owning smartphones

Q11. Consider the following statements regarding Indian sub-national and national responses (2026) to youth social media use. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. Karnataka announced a proposal to bar children under 16 from social media use.
2. Andhra Pradesh announced a proposal targeting children below 13.
3. India's proposed national framework envisages a single uniform age bar of 16 applicable to all minors.

• A. 1 and 2 only
• B. 2 and 3 only
• C. 1 and 3 only
• D. 1, 2 and 3

Q12. With reference to WHO Europe's evidence often cited in support of age-based social media restrictions, consider the following. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

1. Problematic social media use among adolescents rose from about 7% in 2018 to 11% in 2022.
2. Girls reported higher levels of problematic social media use than boys.
3. The data were drawn from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey of adolescents aged 11, 13 and 15.
4. It concluded that problematic social media use showed no statistically significant association with depression or anxiety.

• A. 1 only
• B. 4 only
• C. 2 and 3
• D. 1 and 4