Government restricts access to digital platforms for children under 16

The Ministry of Communications and Digital on Friday issued Ministerial Regulation No. 9 of 2026, governing the restriction of access for children under 16 to digital platforms. Under the provisions derived from Government Regulation No. 17 of 2025 on the Governance of Electronic System Administration in Child Protection, or PP Tunas, children under 16 are not allowed to hold accounts on high-risk digital platforms. ‘Today we issued the Ministerial Regulation derived from PP Tunas. Through this regulation, the government will suspend access for under-16 accounts on high-risk digital platforms, including social media and networking services,’ said Minister Meutya Hafid in a statement in Jakarta on Friday. Implementation of the derivative regulation from PP Tunas will be carried out in stages starting 28 March 2026. In applying the regulation, accounts owned by children under 16 on high-risk platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Thread, X, Bigolive, and Roblox will be deactivated. Meutya said the implementation will be staged until all platforms can perform their obligations under the applicable provisions. Meutya stated that the government recognises that implementing restrictions on children’s access to digital platforms could cause discomfort at the initial stage. Children may complain and parents may be confused. Nevertheless, the government believes implementing restrictions on children’s access to high-risk digital platforms is the best step to protect children. ‘We want technology to humanise people, not sacrifice our children’s childhood,’ Meutya said. He said Indonesia is the first non-Western country to implement such restrictions on children’s access to digital platforms. According to him, this regulation is implemented to protect children from real threats lurking in the digital space, such as exposure to pornography, cyberbullying, online scams, and addiction. He stated that through government regulation parents will not have to fight the giants of algorithmic platforms alone.