BNPT assures Indonesian children will grow up in a safe digital environment
The National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) has assured that Indonesian children can grow up in a safe, healthy and positive digital environment.
BNPT Head Eddy Hartono said Indonesian children are the nation’s greatest investment, and that the agency will continue to maintain a presence in cyberspace to protect them and filter out every threat.
“We will ensure that the little fingers of Indonesian children can explore the digital world safely and grow into a generation that makes the nation proud towards Golden Indonesia 2045,” Eddy said when contacted in Jakarta on Thursday.
He said the pattern of spreading radical ideology has undergone a significant change. Whereas previously it was mostly carried out through face-to-face meetings, groups spreading extremist ideology now exploit digital platform algorithms that can reach children more quickly, more personally and with greater difficulty in detection.
Eddy said children are considered a vulnerable group because they are in a phase of psychological development in which they are still searching for their identity, making them more easily influenced by narratives packaged attractively in the digital space.
For this reason, he said, the role of the family is the first line of defence in building digital literacy, strengthening national values and instilling a critical attitude towards the various information children receive.
As a form of state commitment, BNPT continues to strengthen prevention efforts through policy and cross-sector coordination based on the Whole of Government and Society Approach, which encourages the active involvement of all elements of society, including the education sector, religious figures, community organisations, the media, communities, families and the private sector.
One of the efforts, he said, is being carried out by integrating the fulfilment of children’s rights into the National Action Plan for the Prevention and Countering of Violent Extremism that Leads to Terrorism (RAN PE) Phase II for 2025–2029.
In addition, BNPT together with the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA) and 14 other ministries and agencies have optimised the implementation of the Guidelines for the Coordination Mechanism for the Protection of Child Victims of Terrorism Networks as a means of handling and rehabilitating children affected by criminal acts of terrorism.
He said the strengthening of child protection is also supported through the implementation of the Government Regulation on the Governance of Electronic System Operations in Child Protection (PP Tunas), which serves as an important foundation for creating a safer digital space through strengthening digital platform governance, protecting children from digital violence and intervening against threats in cyberspace.
BNPT emphasised that it will continue to strengthen the state’s presence in the digital space through public education, strengthening digital literacy, cross-ministerial and agency collaboration, the education sector, communities, and the involvement of families as the front line in preventing the spread of radical ideology to children.
BNPT recently used the momentum of National Children’s Day 2026 to remind the public that threats to children are no longer present only in the physical environment, but are also increasingly massive in the digital space.
Through social media, online chat rooms and online gaming platforms, the BNPT Head said intolerant and radical ideologies are exploiting technological developments to reach young age groups.
He therefore stressed that child protection must be carried out comprehensively, including protection from exposure to violent extremism in cyberspace.
The momentum of National Children’s Day, he continued, has served as a reminder for all elements of the nation to provide holistic protection to the next generation, including in the digital space.
He also called on parents to work together to shield children at home through supervision and intensive communication regarding the use of devices.
“Do not let Indonesian children be exposed to radicalism through social media algorithms or online games,” said the BNPT Head.