Indonesia bans children under 16 from social media

Indonesia on March 28 began enforcing a new government regulation that prohibits children under 16 from accessing digital platforms that could expose them to pornography, cyberbullying, online scams, and addiction.

With this move, Indonesia becomes the first country in Southeast Asia to bar children from having accounts on platforms including YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live, and Roblox. The regulation follows a similar measure in Australia last year, which restricted social media use for children in a global first effort to protect teens and give families more control over technology, South China Morning Post reports. 

Indonesia has stated that implementation will be gradual until all platforms comply.

“The government has instructed all digital platforms operating in Indonesia to immediately bring their products, features and services into compliance with applicable regulations. There will be no compromise on compliance, and every business entity operating in Indonesia is required to comply with Indonesian law,” Indonesia’s Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said on March 27.

In announcing the regulation earlier this month, Meutya noted it would affect around 70 million children in Indonesia, a country with a population of about 280 million. High-risk platforms were identified based on how easily children could be exposed to strangers, predators, harmful content, and the risk of exploitation or data security scams.

Australia began similar restrictions in December, revoking access to roughly 4.7 million accounts belonging to children. Other countries, including Spain, France, and the United Kingdom, are also considering or implementing measures to limit children’s social media access amid rising concerns over online harms.

By Sabina Mammadli