Education Practitioners Believe PP Tunas Can Protect Children's Future

A number of education practitioners view Government Regulation Number 17 of 2025 on the Protection of Electronic System Governance in Child Protection (PP Tunas) as an ethical intervention and a strategic step by the state in protecting the nation’s future generations. Deputy Director of Santri Care at Darul Ilmi Indonesia Pesantren, Khalifaturrahman, stated that this regulation aligns with global trends in advanced countries that are aggressively pursuing standards for a safe digital civilisation for children. “In my view, this is a manifestation of the state’s ethical intervention towards its people. Because ethically, the state has an obligation to provide a biological respite so that our children are not pitted against this digital world,” said Khalifaturrahman to ANTARA in Jakarta on Sunday. From a cognitive psychology perspective, said Khalifah, children’s prefrontal cortex, which serves as the control centre, is not yet mature, so they lack the restraint to ward off exposure to bad content from the commercial social media ecosystem. Khalifah also reminded that the presence of this state regulation is merely a starting block, which should not lead parents to shirk their responsibilities or sideline parental supervision and control at home. The Master’s student in Education at the Indonesian International Islamic University (UIII) also dismissed concerns that social media restrictions would stifle creative space. According to him, the function of PP Tunas acts like training wheels on a bicycle to allow children to ride properly. “It doesn’t mean we’re chaining or locking the bicycle, right? So this regulation serves as an assistant for us, especially in the education world, to guide children towards a brighter path. To direct children so they can receive good stimuli in their development,” stated Khalifaturrahman. In agreement with Khalifah, Staff Lecturer at Al-Hikmah Boarding School Batu, Ahmad Nawirul Huda, views PP Tunas as an essential protective step considering that today’s children mature too quickly due to gadgets. “Gathering with friends in the real world will provide far more positive impacts because it can directly enhance children’s motor and cognitive abilities compared to merely expressing oneself through gadget screens,” said Ahmad Nawirul Huda. Previously, the Minister of Communication and Digital, Meutya Hafid, emphasised that the Indonesian government will not compromise with digital platforms that fail to comply with the mandate to protect children in digital spaces in line with PP Tunas. PP Tunas will take effect from 28 March 2026, and every digital-operating business entity is required to comply with the provisions of that regulation.