Indonesia strengthens other countries' resolve for social media restrictions on children
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Digital Culture and Communication Expert Firman Kurniawan stated that Indonesia’s policy, namely Government Regulation No. 17 of 2025 on Child Protection in the Governance of Electronic Systems (PP Tunas), could serve as a strengthening factor for other countries to restrict children’s access to social media platforms.
“Indeed, there is widespread concern about the harms of social media or the uncontrolled use of social media that disadvantages minors. The fact that Indonesia has decided to implement PP Tunas, and then other countries follow suit, could be a reinforcing factor,” said the man who lectures in the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Indonesia to ANTARA on Wednesday.
In recent years, governments around the world have begun issuing regulations on limiting access to digital platforms, including social media, for child users due to findings of negative impacts such as addiction to digital violence.
Indonesia holds a similar view and has become a pioneer in Southeast Asia in restricting children’s access to digital platforms.
Indonesia’s step could be one of the triggers for other countries to decide to limit access to digital platforms, especially social media, for the younger generation, which is not surprising.
This is because Indonesia is the country with the largest number of active internet users in the world.
Its position, according to We Are Social data for October 2025, ranks fourth globally with 230.4 million users.
The number of internet users among children is also significant. As many as 48 percent of total internet users in Indonesia are children under 18 years old.
Reflecting on the massive number of users who lack sufficient maturity in responding to issues in the digital space, PP Tunas is therefore necessary.
“When Indonesia announced it would soon implement PP Tunas and then it was praised by France, this shows that they (other countries) may be more confirmed in planning similar policies,” said Firman.
As a domestic policy, Firman said Indonesia’s step in implementing PP Tunas is already on the right track.
The gradual regulation of sanctions for parties involved in the legislation is also appropriate and does not immediately cut off access that could harm the digital ecosystem.
The summoning of non-compliant platforms as an initial step is hoped to find a bright spot in the challenges faced by platforms in implementing the regulation.
“Well, that summoning is a way to ensure the rules are enforced. The summoning is done to request information to understand what the issue is. Whether they indeed want to defy it or there are specific difficulties. When discussed, solutions can be found,” he said.