70 Million People Banned from Using Social Media in Indonesia, Citizens Respond Like This

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The government, through the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi), has officially banned children aged 16 and under from using social media. Komdigi Minister Meutya Hafid noted that there are 70 million children in this age group. This number is significantly larger compared to other countries with similar regulations, such as Australia, which has only 5.7 million children aged 16 and under. Indonesia is the first country to formalise a large-scale ban on social media use for children. The regulation is contained in Ministerial Regulation No. 9 of 2026, a derivative of Government Regulation No. 17 of 2025, known as PP Tunas, and will be implemented starting 28 March 2026. “This is certainly a challenge, but we must take steps to save our children. It’s not easy, but we must go through it, and with the conviction from today’s meeting, we are all optimistic that despite the challenges, we can implement it effectively and efficiently,” Meutya stated recently. In the initial phase, eight platforms will be included in the list: YouTube, TikTok, Threads, Bigo Live, X, Instagram, Facebook, and Roblox. For subsequent phases, the government will evaluate PSE with risk indicators for children, ranging from contact with strangers, potential exposure to harmful content, potential child exploitation in the digital ecosystem, to causing addiction. Meutya said that six ministries—Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs, Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Religious Affairs, Ministry of Population and Family Planning, and Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education—have agreed to accelerate actions towards 28 March 2026. Thus, protection efforts can be carried out more effectively. Parents’ Responses A number of parents agree with the implementation of PP Tunas, which restricts users aged 16 and under from using social media. However, they provide some notes for its implementation. Several parents interviewed by CNBC Indonesia approve of the regulation, even calling for education for all involved parties. “I agree, but it shouldn’t stop at just content and access restrictions. Education can’t just be for children, but also for parents,” said a father with sons aged 5 and 7. He also called for collaboration with child and adolescent development doctors and psychologists, as social media influences a person’s way of thinking. However, not everyone agrees with all the rules. One reason is that the YouTube platform provides positive new things for children. “For YouTube, children can get many positive new things. Currently, watching YouTube must be supervised; they can’t watch it alone,” explained a 40-year-old woman with a 9-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old son. Meanwhile, some are not confident in the PP Tunas system. To CNBC Indonesia, another mother with a 10-year-old son questioned how far the restrictions would go. “I agree, but I’m not sure the system will be consistent. And I’m not sure it will be filtered if someone manipulates their age identity,” she explained. Government Regulation No. 17 of 2025 or PP Tunas will be implemented starting 28 March 2026. In the initial stage, restrictions will be applied to eight social media platforms: X, BigoLive, Threads, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Roblox, and TikTok. However, so far only X and BigoLive are said to have complied with the regulation. Both have immediately restricted Indonesian users under 16.