Andhra Pradesh’s ‘Age Token’ Plan Signals Shift Toward Identity-Linked Internet Access, Warns Consumer Group
New Delhi, 23 April 2026 – The Consumer Choice Center (CCC) cautions that Andhra Pradesh’s proposal to introduce “age tokens” to regulate social media access represents a broader shift toward identity-linked internet use, raising troubling questions about privacy, system design, and the future of digital access.
By exploring the integration of age verification with DigiLocker, the state is moving beyond traditional content safeguards and toward embedding identity checks into how users access online platforms. CCC warns that such a shift could have far-reaching implications for how the internet functions in practice.
Shrey Madaan, Indian Policy Associate at the Consumer Choice Center, said:
“This is not just about restricting access, it’s about redefining how access works. Once identity-linked systems become part of the infrastructure, they can introduce new risks around data privacy, expand the scope for surveillance, and create barriers for legitimate users who may struggle with verification.”
While improving child safety online is a legitimate objective, CCC notes that building access frameworks for identity verification introduces new challenges related to scalability, interoperability, and user privacy.
Digital platforms today are central to communication, learning, and participation. CCC cautions that layering access with verification requirements risks making the digital experience more conditional, without necessarily addressing the root causes of harmful online content or behaviour.
“Age verification may appear like a fix, but embedding it into the system creates new layers of friction,” Madaan added. “Policy should focus on making platforms safer and more accountable, not making access more restrictive.”
CCC also highlights that implementing such systems at scale is likely to face practical hurdles, including verification gaps, technological limitations, and the likelihood of circumvention.
The Consumer Choice Center urges policymakers to carefully evaluate the long-term implications of such frameworks to ensure that efforts to improve safety do not come at the cost of openness, accessibility, and user autonomy.
“Digital policy should protect users without turning access into a permission-based system,” Madaan concluded.
CCC emphasise that more effective approaches lie in strengthening platform accountability, improving digital literacy, and equipping parents with better tools rather than redesigning access through identity-linked controls.