Herman, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has issued a new regulation restricting children under the age of 16 from accessing high-risk digital platforms, including social media, as part of efforts to strengthen online child protection.

The Communication and Digital Affairs Ministry on Friday released Ministerial Regulation No. 9 of 2026, a derivative rule of Government Regulation No. 17 of 2025 on Electronic System Governance for Child Protection, also known as the PP Tunas.

Under the regulation, children younger than 16 will no longer be allowed to hold accounts on digital platforms classified as high risk.

"Today we issued a ministerial regulation derived from PP Tunas. Through this rule, the government is postponing account access for children under 16 on high-risk digital platforms, including social media and networking services," Communications and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said in a statement in Jakarta on Friday.

The regulation will be implemented gradually starting March 28, 2026.

As part of the rollout, accounts belonging to children under 16 on platforms deemed high risk – such as YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live, and Roblox – will be deactivated.

Meutya said the implementation would be carried out in stages until all digital platforms fully comply with the new requirements.

The minister acknowledged that the policy could initially cause inconvenience for families.

"Children may complain and parents may be confused about how to respond," she said. "However, we believe this restriction on children's access to high-risk digital platforms is the best step to protect them."

According to Meutya, Indonesia is the first non-Western country to introduce such restrictions on minors' access to digital platforms.

The government says the measure is designed to shield children from growing online risks, including exposure to pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud, and digital addiction.

"We want technology to humanize people, not sacrifice the childhood of our children," Meutya said.

She added that the regulation is meant to ensure parents are no longer left alone in confronting the powerful algorithms that dominate the digital ecosystem.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/indonesia-restricts-social-media-access-for-children-under-1