Digital literacy education must be strengthened for PP Tunas to be effective
Jakarta (ANTARA) – Firman Kurniawan, a cultural observer and digital communication expert from the University of Indonesia, has stated that public education in the form of digital literacy must continue to be strengthened by the government for Government Regulation number 17 of 2025 on the Protection of Electronic System Management in Child Protection (PP Tunas) to be effective.
When contacted by Antara in Jakarta on Tuesday, Firman said that whilst the arrival of PP Tunas as a legal framework merits appreciation, the government still needs to provide intensive education to the public to increase public awareness about child protection in digital spaces.
“Public education has two main aspects. First, education so that the public can maintain digital spaces by producing healthy content that does not endanger children’s mental development,” said the lecturer in Communication Studies at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) at the University of Indonesia.
Another matter requiring attention is education for parents so they are able to teach their children about the dangers and warning signs of digital spaces, as digital spaces are an unlimited gateway.
According to him, the arrival of PP Tunas represents an opportune moment for the government to make digital literacy programmes massive again as part of this public education effort.
Firman believes that the digital literacy pillars already established by the government – namely digital competence, digital security, digital culture, and digital ethics – must also be continuously updated in the literacy programmes to be implemented.
This is because technological development and threats in cyberspace continue to evolve and become more complex. He cited the example of the Roblox digital platform, which was originally created as an entertainment medium or children’s game.
However, as the technology has developed, many adult users have become Roblox creators, and this has ultimately become a security gap for child users.
Learning from this example, the government through digital literacy must update its materials, particularly regarding digital security, to remain relevant to what is being taught to the public in accordance with current digital space conditions.
PP Tunas originally arrived and was inaugurated by President Prabowo Subianto in March 2025. This regulation aims to regulate the governance of digital platforms as electronic system operators (PSE) so they can provide safe services for children.
This regulation is expected to protect Indonesian children from potential security threats in digital spaces such as cyberbullying, digital fraud, and exposure to negative content such as pornography.
Most recently, Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs Meutya Hafid formally issued Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs Regulation number 9 of 2026 as an implementing regulation of PP Tunas.
The ministry regulation number 9 of 2026 sets out the obligations of electronic system operators to include age restrictions for services or features provided by PSE and to conduct self-assessments to determine risk profiles.
There is also an obligation to provide parental monitoring features if the electronic system operator requires technology users to have a dedicated account.