Indonesia can inspire other countries to restrict social media for children
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Vice Chairman 2 of the National Information and Communication Technology Entrepreneurs Association (Aptiknas), Alfons Tanujaya, stated that Indonesia can inspire other countries to create rules restricting children’s access to social media as a form of protection in the digital space.
According to Alfons, Indonesia’s policy to protect the next generation in the digital era could even serve as a good comparative study for other countries to make similar regulations.
“It’s not just inspiring other countries; they are observing very closely what Indonesia is doing, how it is implemented, and the reactions from PSEs (electronic system operators). Everyone can see. Malaysia is already peeking. All countries will watch,” said Alfons, who is also a cybersecurity expert, to ANTARA on Thursday.
The provision restricting children’s access to social media in Indonesia is part of Government Regulation No. 17 of 2025 on Child Protection Governance in the Management of Electronic Systems (PP Tunas).
More specifically, this regulation aims to provide protection to 70 million Indonesian children to ensure safe access in the digital space.
This makes it an effort to restrict social media access for child users on the largest scale in the world currently.
“When this runs well, they (other countries) will immediately follow because they already know the dangers (of social media),” said Alfons.
Previously, a similar statement was made by Digital Culture and Communication Expert Firman Kurniawan on Wednesday (1/4), who said that PP Tunas could be a strengthening factor for other countries to restrict children’s access to social media.
“It has indeed become a shared concern about the harm of social media or the uncontrolled use of social media that disadvantages underage children. Then Indonesia decides to implement PP Tunas, and other countries follow; this could be a strengthening factor,” said the man who lectures in the Philosophy Faculty at the University of Indonesia to ANTARA on Wednesday.
Indonesia also holds a similar view and becomes a pioneer in Southeast Asia for restricting children’s access to digital platforms.
Regarding enforcement, on Thursday (2/4), the Ministry of Communication and Digital (Kemkomdigi), which leads the implementation of PP Tunas, has issued a second summons to two tech giants, Meta and Google, as owners of digital platforms that have not yet complied with this regulation.
Director General of Digital Space Supervision at Kemkomdigi, Alexander Sabar, stated that compliance with child protection rules in the digital space is not merely an administrative obligation but a responsibility that directly impacts child safety.
“Every delay prolongs the risks faced by children in the digital space. Therefore, we demand concrete and timely compliance from all platforms, including global ones,” said Alexander.