Instagram Accounts to Be Blocked en Masse on 28 March: Requirements to Avoid Restriction
Jakarta — Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Digital Technology will implement a delay in access to social media platforms, including Instagram, for children aged 13-16 years beginning 28 March 2026.
This provision is based on the Ministerial Regulation of Communication and Digital Technology Number 9 of 2026 concerning the Governance of Electronic System Implementation in Child Protection.
The regulation will ensure that accounts for children under 16 years of age on numerous high-risk digital platforms are deactivated beginning in late March. In the initial phase, platforms included are YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X (formerly Twitter), Bigo Live, and Roblox.
The government stated that the implementation process will be conducted in phases until all digital platforms comply with the regulatory obligations. However, the government acknowledges that this policy may cause inconvenience in the early stages of implementation.
“We are aware that implementing this regulation may cause inconvenience initially — children may complain, and parents may be confused dealing with their children’s complaints,” said Minister of Communication and Digital Technology Meutya Hafid in a statement on the Ministry’s Instagram account.
Classification criteria for social media restrictions
The Ministerial Regulation Number 9 of 2026 is a derivative regulation of Government Regulation (PP) Number 17 of 2025 concerning the Governance of Electronic System Implementation in Child Protection (PP Tunas). PP Tunas was established on 28 March last year and becomes effective in March 2026. The regulation outlines the concept of classifying digital platforms based on risk levels and user age tiers.
High-risk platforms, such as those containing pornography, violence, or vulnerable to bullying, will be subject to strict age restrictions. The following are the categories of websites and applications based on PP Tunas:
Under 13 years: allowed to access only completely safe platforms, such as educational sites or children’s platforms.
13-15 years: permitted to access platforms with low to moderate risk.
16-17 years: can access high-risk platforms, but with parental guidance.
18 years and above: permitted to independently access all platform categories.
However, PP Tunas does not explicitly specify which applications fall into the low-risk, moderate-risk, or high-risk categories. Platforms such as X, Instagram, or YouTube must conduct their own evaluation and report their category to the Ministry of Communication and Digital Technology.
The following are assessment aspects for determining the social media category for children:
Contact with unknown individuals
Exposure to pornography, violent content, content dangerous to personal safety, and other content inappropriate for children
Exploitation of children as consumers
Threats to the security of children’s personal data
Addiction potential
Threats to children’s psychological health
Threats to children’s physiological health
If a product, service, or feature has a high-risk level in one or more of the above aspects, the application falls into the high-risk category and may only be accessed by children aged 16-17 years with parental guidance or freely for those 18 years and above.