Central Java Muhammadiyah Chairman Supports Social Media Restrictions for Children

Semarang (ANTARA) - The Chairman of the Muhammadiyah Regional Leadership Council in Central Java, Tafsir, supports restricting social media use for children under 16 years old as an effort to protect the young generation.

“We support and understand the implementation of such regulations,” Tafsir said in Semarang on Sunday.

According to Tafsir, content on various social media platforms is diverse and boundless.

Meanwhile, children, he continued, are not yet able to differentiate between good and bad content for them.

“Children cannot yet distinguish between what is factual and what is a hoax,” he said.

Therefore, he stated, one way to minimise the resulting impacts is by implementing restrictions that are firmly regulated in legislation.

Government Regulation No. 17 of 2025 on the Governance of Electronic Systems in Child Protection will officially take effect on 28 March 2026.

The Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs has issued Ministerial Regulation No. 9 of 2026, which is a derivative regulation of that Government Regulation.

The Ministerial Regulation No. 9 regulates restrictions on access for children under 16 years old to digital platforms.

Through this child protection regulation in the digital realm, it is hoped that in the future there will be no more children who are disadvantaged because their rights are not protected in the digital space.