Analyst: Firmness Needed in Implementing Child Protection in the Digital Realm

The regulation stems from the awareness that children are a vulnerable group in the digital ecosystem. Makassar (ANTARA) - Dr Hadawiah, a child observer and expert from Universitas Muslim Indonesia (UMI) Makassar, stated that firmness is needed in implementing child protection in the digital realm. This was expressed in response to the fact that there are still social media platforms that have not complied with Government Regulation No. 17 of 2025 on the Governance of Electronic System Providers in Child Protection (PP Tunas). “The government must take a firm stance by imposing sanctions on those who ignore the PP, as there is still a gap between the regulation and practices in the field,” said Hadawiah in Makassar on Friday. According to this academic in Communication Studies at UMI Makassar, the serious gap between regulations and field practices needs to be addressed with the government’s firm attitude towards social media “platforms”. “They do not yet have sufficient cognitive maturity and media literacy to filter information, understand privacy risks, or face potential exposure to negative content such as violence, pornography, and disinformation,” she said. When platforms do not firmly implement age limits in this case for children aged 16 and under, the digital space becomes unfriendly to children and potentially disrupts their psychosocial development. From the perspective of Communication Studies, social media is not merely a communication channel but also an agent of socialisation that shapes values, attitudes, and behaviour. If children are exposed without control, they risk experiencing “overexposure” to simulated realities built by algorithms that often do not align with educational values. In the theory of media social responsibility, she said, every platform provider should not only pursue engagement but also ensure user safety, especially for young age groups. When regulations are ignored, business logic appears more dominant than public protection. As an educator, this situation demands strengthening digital literacy from an early age, both in schools and families. However, responsibility cannot be entirely placed on parents and educational institutions. The state needs to strengthen supervision and law enforcement, while platforms must improve more credible age verification systems, not just formalities. Thus, child protection in the digital space must be a collective responsibility. Without synergy between regulators, platforms, educators, and society, existing rules will only become normative documents without real impact on the safety of the younger generation in the digital era.