As digital spaces become central to young people's lives, ensuring their safety requires localized, youth-centered solutions. The newly released report, "Advancing Standards for Youth Online Protection in India," captures critical insights from a closed-door roundtable co-organized by Social & Media Matters and Vyanams Strategies.

Bringing together Indian youth, tech experts, and civil society, the discussion highlights the urgent need to actively include youth voices in platform design. Key learnings focus on building culturally aware AI moderation, shifting from strict surveillance to safety-by-design, and fostering multi-generational digital awareness. Discover actionable steps to create a more inclusive and empathetic digital ecosystem.

The report emphasizes that while global platforms offer a vital space for expression, they frequently lack the cultural and linguistic sensitivity needed for India's diverse reality. Participants noted that harmful content and misinformation in regional languages are often harder to detect, slower to moderate, and less consistently enforced. To address this, the discussions highlight the necessity of developing AI systems grounded in local context, ensuring that safety mechanisms do not inadvertently exclude or exploit users in semi-urban or rural areas.

Furthermore, the findings advocate for a shift away from relying solely on restrictive parental controls, which can inadvertently push youth toward secrecy due to India's intergenerational digital divide. Instead, the report champions "friction by design"—building mindful pauses into product architecture to guide young users toward safer choices without compromising their autonomy. Ultimately, safeguarding digital spaces requires a "whole-of-society" approach where platforms, policymakers, educators, and families share accountability.