Interior Minister to Reward Regional Governments That Successfully Restrict Child Social Media Access
JAKARTA — The Interior Minister (Mendagri) Tito Karnavian will provide awards or recognition to regional governments that successfully implement restrictions on social media access for children under 16 years of age.
This policy follows the issuance of Digital Communications Ministry Regulation Number 9 of 2026, which governs the deactivation of social media accounts belonging to minors, effective 28 March 2026.
“We will conduct monitoring and evaluation of supervision, identifying which regions are performing well, following up, and which are stagnating or indifferent. Those performing well will receive rewards,” said Tito following a coordination meeting with relevant ministries at the Digital Communications Ministry building in Central Jakarta on Wednesday (11 March 2026).
“The Interior Ministry is also preparing a budget. We may also provide incentive funds to regions, not just certificates,” Tito added.
Nevertheless, the Interior Ministry will coordinate the technical details of reward distribution with the Digital Communications Minister Meutya Hafid.
Several matters under discussion include the number of regions eligible for awards and the indicators that will form the evaluation index.
According to Tito, beyond recognition, these rewards will also encourage healthy competition among other regions in implementing social media access restrictions for children.
“In this way, regions will naturally compete – they won’t want to be in a lower position. A lower position will damage their electability. That’s roughly the idea,” said Tito.
The restriction policy is part of the government’s broader efforts to strengthen child protection in the digital sphere, including delaying social media use for children under 16 years of age.
The regulation, issued under the implementation guidelines of the Digital Child Protection Regulation, contains technical guidelines for digital platform operators in fulfilling child protection obligations when users access internet services.
Digital Communications Minister Meutya Hafid explained that the government aims to ensure children are not exposed to various online risks.
“Our children face increasingly real threats, such as exposure to pornography, cyberbullying, and online fraud. The government is here so that parents no longer have to fight alone against algorithmic forces,” said Meutya on Friday (6 March 2026).
In the initial phase, the regulation targets several social media services and networks widely used by children, including YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Threads, Instagram, X, Bigo Live, and Roblox.