Responding to the Indonesian government's move to ban social media access for children under 16 years old, Amnesty International Indonesia's Executive Director Usman Hamid said:
"This blanket ban on social media will deprive tens of millions of young people in Indonesia of vital channels for communicating with others, accessing information, developing creativity and expressing themselves.
"Social media has always served as an important medium for children to voice their opinions. In one recent example, school children have been actively engaging in critical discussions online to raise concerns about the lack of food safety in meals provided at schools under the government's Free Nutritious Meals Program.
"With this blanket ban, it will be increasingly difficult for children to express their views on government policies that directly impact their human rights."
"We recognise the very real harms children can face online, including exposure to harmful content. It is therefore understandable that the government is looking for strong responses. However, a blanket ban on social media for children is an overly simplistic solution to a complex problem. The focus should be on making digital spaces safer, not excluding children from them.
"What Indonesia needs are rights-respecting solutions: stronger regulation on due diligence and addictive design for online social media platforms, robust data protection laws and platform designs that comply with international human rights law and standards – not a blanket ban that fails to address the root causes of online harm. Such measures also disregard children's right to be heard in decisions that affect their lives, including policies governing their digital access – an area increasingly central to their education, wellbeing, and ability to engage in public life. A ban would also mean losing the opportunity to develop solutions that genuinely empower children to navigate the digital world safely."
Background
On 6 March, the Ministry of Communications and Digital Affairs announced the establishment of a new government regulation that bans children under 16 from accessing social media.
Starting from 28 March, all accounts belonging to children under 16 years old will gradually be deactivated beginning with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox.
Communications and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said the regulation was the "best step" Indonesia can take to respond to "digital emergency" due to online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and internet addiction.
Indonesia is a State Party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which guarantees children's right to freedom of expression and access to information. The Convention also guarantees children's right to be heard, which requires state parties to give due weight to children's views when making decisions directly affecting them and their human rights.