Eight Applications Block Child Accounts in Indonesia After Eid, Not Just Social Media
Jakarta — Indonesia’s rules delaying access to social media for children have begun taking effect. Effective from 28 March 2026, accounts belonging to users aged 16 and below will be deactivated.
This provision is based on the Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Digital Regulation Number 9 of 2026 concerning the Governance of Electronic System Implementation in Child Protection.
The Minister of Communication and Digital, Meutya Hafid, stated that the regulation is a derivative rule from the TUNAS Government Regulation, which regulates restrictions on children’s access to high-risk digital platforms.
“Today we have issued a Ministerial Regulation derived from the TUNAS Government Regulation. Through this regulation, the government delays account access for children under 16 years old on high-risk digital platforms, including social media and networking services,” said Meutya in an official post on Instagram, Friday (6 March 2026).
Several platforms included in the initial implementation phase include YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X (Twitter), Bigo Live, and Roblox.
With this rule, Indonesia is described as becoming the first non-Western nation to implement a policy delaying children’s access to the digital space based on age.
According to Meutya, the policy was adopted because of the increasing threats faced by children on the internet, ranging from exposure to pornographic content, cyberbullying, to online fraud and digital platform addiction.
“The basis is clear; our children face increasingly real threats. From exposure to pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud, and most importantly, addiction. The government is present so that parents no longer have to fight alone against algorithmic giants,” she said.
The implementation phase of this rule will begin on 28 March 2026. In the initial phase, accounts of children aged under 16 years on several high-risk digital platforms will be deactivated.
The government said the implementation process would be carried out in stages until all digital platforms fulfil their compliance obligations with the regulation.
Nevertheless, the government recognised that this policy could cause discomfort in the initial phase of implementation.
“We are aware that implementing this regulation may cause discomfort initially; children may complain, and parents may be confused facing complaints from their children,” said Meutya.
However, the government believes this step is necessary to protect children amid what is described as a digital emergency.
“We believe that this is the best step that the government must take amid a digital emergency situation,” she said.
She stressed that the policy was adopted to ensure technology benefits young people, rather than damaging their future.
“We take this step to reclaim the sovereignty of our children’s future. We want technology to humanise humans, not to sacrifice children’s childhood,” she concluded.
Criteria for Restricting Social Media
Restrictions on children’s access to applications and social media are regulated under Government Regulation No. 17 of 2025 on Electronic System Governance in Child Protection (TUNAS Government Regulation). The regulation also describes the concept of classifying digital platforms based on risk and age levels of users.
“Digital platforms cannot be treated uniformly. Therefore, the government will classify access based on platform risk categories, namely low, moderate, and high,” explained Communication and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid.
High-risk platforms, such as those containing pornography, violence, or vulnerable to bullying, will be subject to strict age restrictions. The following are categories of websites and applications based on TUNAS Government Regulation:
— Under 13 years: only permitted to access completely safe platforms, such as educational websites or children’s platforms.
— 13–15 years: permitted to access low to moderate risk platforms.
— 16–17 years: can access high-risk platforms, but must have parental guidance.
— 18 years and above: permitted to access all platform categories independently.
However, the TUNAS Government Regulation does not explicitly mention applications that fall into the low, moderate, or high-risk categories. Platforms such as X, Instagram, or YouTube must conduct their own evaluation and report their category to the Ministry of Communication and Digital.
The following are assessment aspects for determining social media categories for children:
— Contact with unknown persons
— Exposure to pornographic content, violent content, content harmful to physical safety, and other content not suitable for children
— Exploitation of children as consumers
— Threatening the security of children’s personal data
— Addiction
— Psychological health disturbances to children
— Physiological disturbances to children
If a product, service, or feature has a high-risk level on one or more of the above aspects, the application falls into the high-risk category and can only be accessed by children aged 16–17 years with parental guidance or freely for those aged 18 and above.