The regulator's representative said the time limit was needed to restrict children's access to banned content, according to Vedomosti.
The Interior Ministry said it was alarmed by cases of children and teenagers being drawn into offences through social networks, messengers, forums and game chats. The most common crimes children are recruited into are acting as money mules and giving third parties access to their accounts, the ministry said.
Valeria Cheretskikh, head of the mass communications department at Roskomnadzor, complained about legislative constraints at a session of the working group of the expert council under the State Duma committee on family protection. She said the agency cannot block all the content it considers destructive.
Cheretskikh said the bill is meant to strengthen social networks' own control over publications and push platforms to stop the spread of banned information. She also raised the blocking of Roblox and Telegram, noting that the restrictions caused significant public backlash among minors.
Nina Ostanina, chair of the State Duma committee on family protection, said at the same conference that bans alone are not enough to protect children online. In her view, restrictions may increase teenagers' interest in banned content.
Ostanina said the state has difficulty controlling foreign internet services. She said technology develops faster than legislation, and teenagers keep using popular services through VPNs even after restrictions are introduced.
In June, Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadayev said the ministry was considering mechanisms to confirm the age of users on online platforms. The ministry is studying foreign experience, including the age identification system of the gaming platform Roblox.
A law banning social media for children under 16 has been in force in Australia since late 2025. Similar restrictions are being discussed in the UK and European Union countries, including France and Spain.
According to a state-run VTsIOM poll from October 20, 59% of Russians support restrictions on social media use by children and teenagers.