From 28 March 2026, Under-16s Will Be Prohibited from Using Platforms Ranging from TikTok to Roblox

Indonesia’s government has formally taken a firm step to protect young people in cyberspace. Minister of Communications and Digital Transformation (Menkomdigi) Meutya Hafid announced that children under the age of 16 are no longer allowed to have accounts on digital platforms categorised as high risk, spanning from TikTok to Roblox. The policy is contained in Minister of Communications and Information Regulation Number 9 of 2026, implementing Government Regulation (PP) Number 17 of 2025 on the Governance of Electronic System Administration in the Protection of Children, or the so‑called PP Tunas. Meutya acknowledged the policy will likely cause discomfort for children and parents during the initial transition. However, she stressed that the government cannot remain silent as the future of children is risked by platform algorithms. ‘We understand this step may cause inconvenience. But the government ensures that the responsibility for protecting children now rests with the platforms. Parents should not face the challenges of technological development alone,’ she said, quoted by Antara, on Friday, 6 March. Under the regulation, Indonesia becomes one of the first non‑Western countries to progressively regulate digital access by age to safeguard children’s mental health and safety. Under PP Tunas, the primary responsibility lies with the Electronic System Providers (PSE) or platform owners. Tech companies are required to implement stricter age verification and deactivate accounts proven to belong to users under 16. ‘Technology must humanise people, not sacrifice our children’s childhoods. This decision was taken because threats in the digital space to children are increasingly real, such as pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud, and digital addiction,’ Meutya said. Implementation of the rule will be phased in from 28 March 2026. Meutya listed eight core platforms as the initial focus due to their high risk to child development, including TikTok, Instagram, Roblox, among others.