Russia's State Duma (lower house of parliament) is not considering legislation to ban social media access for children and teenagers, with the effects of similar restrictions in Australia remaining unclear, TASS reported on December 22.

Anton Gorelkin, first deputy chairman of the State Duma's information policy committee representing United Russia, stated that parliament is not developing a ban on social networks for minors.

His comments followed remarks by Andrei Svintsov, deputy chairman of the same committee from the Liberal Democratic Party, who suggested restricting social media access for children under 14 years, citing Australia's example of banning platforms for teenagers under 16.

Gorelkin noted that the outcomes of Australia's social media ban for children cannot yet be assessed definitively.

Whilst Australian authorities have reported success, increasing numbers of teenagers are choosing digital platforms that do not cooperate with authorities or buying virtual private networks (VPNs) to connect via third countries.

"Mass migration of children to uncontrolled corners of the internet is occurring, and this is far more dangerous in my view," Gorelkin stated in his Max channel post.

The debate follows international moves to restrict social media access for minors, with proposals emerging in several European countries. France has considered banning social media for children aged 15 to 16, whilst the European Parliament has proposed restrictions for those under 13.