The Indonesian government has announced that it will ban children under 16 years old from using social media platforms in order to deal with the increasing risks that minors face in the digital environment. Indonesian Minister of Communications and Digital Affairs Mutiya Hafed issued a statement to the media that day, saying that she had signed a government regulation that stipulates that children under the age of 16 are not allowed to open accounts on digital platforms that are deemed "high-risk". Relevant platforms include YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox, etc.
According to the arrangement, this ban will be implemented in phases from March 28 until all platforms complete their compliance and rectification obligations. Hafed pointed out that the basis for the introduction of this regulation is very clear: children are facing increasingly real and serious threats from online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud, and especially addiction. “The government’s move is so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the huge algorithmic beast,” she said.
Hafed said the government sees this as the best effort to take back control of children's future amid the "digital emergency". She admitted that the new rules may cause some inconvenience in the early stages of implementation. "Children may complain, and parents may be confused about how to respond to their children's complaints."
A few days before the ban was announced, the Indonesian Ministry of Communications and Digital Affairs had just conducted a surprise inspection of Meta’s office in Jakarta, focusing on the handling of harmful content on its platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The ministry said in a statement that during the inspection, the minister issued a stern warning regarding Meta's "low compliance rate" in complying with relevant Indonesian national regulations.
It is reported that Indonesia has sent emails to TikTok and Meta to solicit opinions on relevant measures, but has not yet received a reply.
Indonesia will become the first country in Southeast Asia to restrict children's use of social media. As early as December 2025, Australia took the lead in restricting teenagers' social media access. Subsequently, social media companies have revoked access to the accounts of approximately 4.7 million users identified as children in Australia.