Sri Lanka is preparing tighter controls on children’s access to digital devices and social media, with proposals before the government to ban screens for children under five and prohibit social media use by anyone under twelve.
Women and Child Affairs Minister Saroja Savithri Paulraj said authorities are deliberating the restrictions in response to rising reports of online exploitation, addiction and behavioural problems linked to unsupervised access. A special committee chaired by Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya has been tasked with formulating policy recommendations on child safety in the digital space.
“The minister said proposals have now been recommended to prohibit children under the age of five from accessing digital screens and to ban social media use for those under 12,” Newswire reported, citing her remarks. The measures remain at the deliberation stage and have not yet been gazetted.
If adopted, the rules would put Sri Lanka among a small group of countries pursuing legally binding age limits on social media access. Australia passed a comparable under-16 ban in late 2025 and several European jurisdictions are considering parallel restrictions. Enforcement, age verification and parental compliance are the main implementation challenges flagged in similar regimes overseas.
In a related announcement on Tuesday, the minister said all preschools operating in Sri Lanka must register or renew their registration by 1 July under new regulations. Institutions that miss the deadline will be publicly listed as unregistered and barred from admitting new students until they meet government standards. Parents were urged to verify a preschool’s registration status before enrolling their children.
The twin announcements signal a broader government push to tighten the regulatory perimeter around early childhood — covering both physical settings and the digital environment — under the prime minister’s coordination.
