BNPT: Children and Families Key to Preventing Digital Radicalism Threats

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) has emphasised that children and families are key to prevention amid the threat of digital radicalism. In the online Monday-Thursday Study Forum (KSK) on Monday (4/5), BNPT’s Prevention Director, Brigadier General TNI Sigit Karyadi, highlighted the rapid flow of information on the internet, especially that consumed by young people, which opens opportunities for extremist ideologies to infiltrate. “In the real world, it might seem safe, but in the digital space, the influence is enormous, particularly on children. In fact, dozens of children have already been exposed to violent content,” Sigit stated, as quoted in a statement confirmed in Jakarta on Friday. Therefore, he views this situation as a reminder that supervising and guiding children in internet use is no longer optional but a necessity. The government has prepared several measures, such as child protection policies in the digital space and the National Action Plan to Prevent Extremism (RAN-PE) 2026–2029. Under these policies, local governments are encouraged to promptly develop concrete steps at the local level. From survey results, Sigit revealed that actually, the majority of parents have begun monitoring. Of 59 percent of respondents with children aged 5-17 years, 82 percent admitted to supervising their children’s internet use. Nevertheless, he continued, nearly one in five parents still do not monitor at all. For this reason, BNPT encourages various simple yet impactful steps, such as increasing positive content on social media, strengthening character education and nationalism in schools, and enhancing digital literacy in families. Additionally, collaboration between local governments, schools, and communities is deemed important to create a safer digital space. Therefore, BNPT organised the KSK forum together with the Bangka Belitung Terrorism Prevention Coordination Forum. In the forum, it was also stated that although the Radicalism Potential Index in Bangka Belitung Province has decreased to 13.7, the threat of radicalism in the digital space remains a serious concern. Meanwhile, Researcher from FKPT Bangka Belitung, Dinar Pratama, emphasised the crucial role of parents and educators. “Prevention must start from the closest environment, especially family and school. Children need to be guided so they are not easily influenced,” Dinar said. The KSK forum was attended by around 150 participants from various sectors, from security apparatus and local government to academics. The hope is that the survey results on child supervision will not only become data but will truly be translated into real actions on the ground.