Foreign Media Spotlight on Indonesian Social Media Account Blocking for Children

The Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi) has released new regulations that will deactivate social media accounts for children under 16 years of age. The account blocking will commence on 28 March 2026.

The decision was established by the Ministry of Communication and Digital, based on Ministry Regulation (Permen) Komdigi Number 9 of 2026. This regulation is a direct derivative of Government Regulation Number 17 of 2025 regarding the Management of Electronic Systems in Child Protection (PP Tunas).

The decision to restrict social media access has attracted scrutiny from several foreign media outlets including The New York Times, The Guardian, Engadget, and Malaysian news agency Bernama.

According to Meutya, the Minister of Communication and Digital, children in Indonesia face increasingly real threats. These threats include exposure to pornographic content, cyberbullying, online fraud, and most critically, the problem of addiction.

The Guardian highlighted the list of platforms to be restricted for children under 16 in Indonesia by the end of March 2026. These include YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Roblox. Live streaming platform Bigo Live as well as microblog X and Threads are also included in the list.

The media outlet noted that Indonesia, with a population of 285 million people, represents a significant market for social media platforms.

Bernama spotlighted Indonesia’s position as the first non-Western nation to take such drastic action, as claimed by the Minister of Communication and Digital. According to Menkomdigi, Indonesia will become the first non-Western nation to implement a policy restricting digital access for children.

“Indonesia is one of the pioneering non-Western nations taking firm steps in protecting children in digital spaces. We are taking this step to ensure our children grow healthily in the technology era,” said Meutya in a press release on Friday, 6 March 2026.

Technology media outlet Engadget spotlighted Indonesia as the latest nation to restrict social media use for children under 16. This policy was first implemented in Australia, which banned social media use for children. The ban covers popular social media platforms including TikTok, Twitch, X/Twitter, and Reddit.