Today's Edition
JAKARTA (DPA)
Indonesia will begin restricting access to certain "high-risk" digital platforms, including TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube for children under the age of 16, the government said on Friday.
The law proposed by the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs
will take effect this month.
"Through this regulation, the government will postpone access for children under 16 to high-risk digital platforms, including social media and networking services," the communications and digital affairs minister, Meutya Hafid, said in a statement.
Under the new rules, the government will begin deactivating existing accounts belonging to users under 16 on several major platforms starting on March 28.
Meutya said the process would be carried out gradually until the companies concerned comply fully with the regulation.
Platforms affected include YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live, and the online gaming platform Roblox.
Meutya said Indonesia would become one of the first non-Western countries to impose age-based restrictions on children's access to digital platforms.
She described the measure as a response to growing risks facing young internet users.
"Children are confronting increasingly real threats, ranging from exposure to pornography and cyberbullying to online scams and, most importantly, addiction," she said.
The minister acknowledged that the policy could cause inconvenience for children and parents. But she said the government viewed it as a necessary step during what she described as a digital emergency.
Indonesia, the world's fourth-most-populous country, has one of the largest online populations in South-East Asia, with tens of millions of children and teenagers using social media and online games.
Officials have increasingly raised concerns about the effects of excessive screen time, cybercrime, and harmful content on young users.
The government has not yet detailed how platforms will verify users' ages or enforce the restrictions, an issue that has complicated similar legislative efforts in other countries.
