Duma deputy Anton Gorelkin called a ban excessive and said parents, rather than the state, should oversee children's online activity.
Anton Gorelkin, deputy head of the State Duma's information policy committee, said lawmakers were not considering an initiative to prohibit children and teenagers from using social networks. In his view, parents should be responsible for overseeing a child's digital life.
Gorelkin said the state should give families effective parental-control tools. He also said he was waiting for the relevant feature to be fully implemented on Gosuslugi, Russia's public-services portal.
As international context, the deputy referred to Australia, where platforms have been required since December 10, 2025, to take steps to prevent users under 16 from creating or keeping accounts. The restriction covers services including TikTok, YouTube, X and Snapchat. Australian authorities said the measure was intended to protect young people from harmful content, mental-health risks and cyberbullying.