The government of Indonesia has announced a new regulation that will ban children under the age of 16 from accessing major social media platforms, with the policy expected to begin rolling out at the end of March.
According to a report by Edna Tarigan of Stuff, Meutya Hafid said on Friday that she had signed a regulation prohibiting minors from creating accounts on high-risk digital platforms. The list includes popular services such as YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox.
The government plans to implement the restrictions gradually, beginning March 28, giving companies time to comply with the new rules.
“The basis is clear. Our children face increasingly real threats. From exposure to pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud, and most importantly, addiction. “The government is here so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giant of algorithms,” Hafid said, Stuff has quoted.
She said the policy is part of the government’s broader effort to address what officials describe as a digital emergency affecting young people. According to Hafid, the move aims to help safeguard children’s wellbeing and protect their future.
“We realize that the implementation of this regulation may cause some discomfort at first. Children may complain and parents may be confused about how to respond to their children’s complaints,” said Hafid, as quoted by Stuff.
Residents in the capital city of Jakarta largely welcomed the new restrictions, saying the increasing access of children to social media through smartphones has raised concerns.
“I think that it has been very worrying for minors, especially children. Because they have too much freedom with photos, videos and everything. Some education is educational, but some is misleading. So we really need to sort through social media again,” said Marianah, 43, Stuff has quoted.
Some parents also called on the government to take stronger action against harmful online content, including gambling and pornography websites.
“As parents, we hope that online gambling and pornography websites can also be removed. So, in a sense, the government must also be fair. This is for the sake of the people themselves, for the children, and for the children’s growth and development,” said Harianto, 49, a resident in Jakarta, Stuff has quoted.
Earlier in the week, officials from Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs conducted a surprise inspection at the Jakarta office of Meta Platforms. The visit followed concerns over how the company manages harmful content across platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
The ministry said the inspection resulted in a strong warning to Meta over what it described as low compliance with national regulations.
The Associated Press reported that requests for comment were sent to TikTok and Meta, but neither company had responded at the time.
Indonesia will become the first country in Southeast Asia to introduce a nationwide restriction on children’s access to social media.
Similar measures have already begun elsewhere. In Australia, social media restrictions for teenagers were introduced in December 2025, leading companies to remove about 4.7 million accounts identified as belonging to children, as reported by Edna Tarigan of Stuff.
Other countries, including Spain, France and the United Kingdom, are also considering or implementing policies aimed at limiting minors’ exposure to potentially harmful social media content.
ISSUE
Leave a Comment