Indonesia's Rules Become a Global Trend, Many Developed Countries Follow Suit

A number of developed countries worldwide are beginning to implement restrictions on social media usage. Indonesia has applied the same rules starting from 28 March 2026 for children under 16 years old.

Previously, Indonesia was one of the first countries to advocate for limiting social media access for minors through the PP TUNAS regulation, which was officially launched in March 2025. Nevertheless, Australia became the first country to explicitly ban social media use for children under 16 since December 2025.

Now, many developed countries are following this trend. One of them, the UK, has reportedly asked parents to limit screen usage for young children. They are advised to provide up to one hour of viewing per day for ages 2-5 years, while children under 2 years are not recommended to use screens at all.

This advice is given because prolonged screen use can disrupt sleep time and replace play and exercise time.

The guidelines request that parents avoid using screens for children during mealtimes and one hour before bedtime. Parents are also asked to choose slow-paced and age-appropriate content, including watching together with the child.

Experts who contributed to recommending the advice urge parents to avoid fast-tempo social media videos and certain AI-supported toys. Meanwhile, outdoor-based technology for children with special educational needs should not be subject to restrictions.

However, the advice, which is the UK government’s most explicit intervention to date, faces challenges. Because implementing this advice is not easy.

The government notes that a quarter of UK parents with children aged 3-5 years admit to struggling with screen time limits. Additionally, 98% of 2-year-old children use screens every day.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said parents need clear and sensible advice. He emphasised that his government will not leave parents to struggle alone with these restrictions.

“My government will not leave parents to face this battle alone,” he explained, quoted by Reuters on Monday (30/3/2026).

Austria to Ban Social Media for Under 14s

In Austria, the country plans to impose a ban on social media use for children under 14 years old. Cabinet members from three parties in the country have announced an agreement on the ban.

The purpose of the ban is to protect children from addictive algorithms and content including sexual abuse.

“We will no longer sit idly by and watch platforms addict our children and also make them ill. The risks associated with this usage have been ignored for too long, and it’s time to act,” said Deputy Chancellor from the Social Democratic Party, Andreas Babler.

The draft regulation will be prepared starting from the end of June. In the draft, no individual platforms will be named in the ban, but it will be decided based on factors such as the level of addictiveness of algorithms and the inclusion of content like sexual violence.

However, information on when the ban will start and its implementation is not yet known. We’ll have to wait and see!