Home Affairs Minister: Local Governments Must Protect Children from Harmful Effects of Electronic Systems
Jakarta — Indonesia’s Home Affairs Minister (Mendagri) Muhammad Tito Karnavian has emphasised that local governments (Pemda) must be actively involved in efforts to protect children from the harmful effects of electronic systems, particularly social media.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri) will oversee local government contributions to child protection initiatives. Karnavian noted that implementing such policies requires substantial collaborative effort, given that Indonesia is amongst countries with the largest populations and internet users globally.
“Therefore, the involvement of local government is a necessity,” Tito stated in his remarks in Jakarta on Wednesday.
The minister made these comments following a coordination meeting on the implementation of Government Regulation Number 17 of 2025 on Electronic System Management for Child Protection (PP Tunas) at the offices of the Ministry of Communication and Digital Technology (Komdigi) in Jakarta.
As supervisor and overseer of local governments, Kemendagri will ensure that child protection programmes are integrated into regional development planning documents. This includes Medium-Term Regional Development Plans (RPJMD), Strategic Plans (Renstra), Government Work Plans (RKPD), and budgeting allocations in regional budgets (APBD).
“Regions will be monitored through the Development Planning Consultation process (Musrenbang), with support from the Directorate General of Regional Development, and when programmes are budgeted in the APBD, they will be monitored by the Directorate General of Regional Finance,” the minister explained.
Additionally, Kemendagri plans to issue a circular to local governments as guidance for policy implementation. The minister stressed that regions can adapt implementation to their local characteristics and wisdom, including issuing regional regulations or chief executive orders related to the programme.
“For instance, in Bali, they can use customary law as a basis for educating children and preventing misuse of electronic systems,” Tito said.
Kemendagri will also promote capacity building for local officials to better understand child protection issues in digital spaces. This effort will be undertaken through collaboration with relevant technical ministries and accompanied by public socialisation adapted to local wisdom in each region.
Furthermore, Kemendagri will conduct monitoring and evaluation of programme implementation at the regional level. Local governments demonstrating strong performance will receive recognition, potentially including incentive funding.
The minister has also proposed establishing an index to measure the level of regional commitment to protecting children from harmful effects of electronic systems.
The coordination forum was attended by the Minister of Communication and Digital Technology Meutya Viada Hafid, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Abdul Mu’ti, Minister for the Empowerment of Women and Child Protection Arifatul Choiri Fauzi, Minister of Religious Affairs Nasaruddin Umar, Minister of Population and Family Development Wihaji, and Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya.