Komdigi Opens Possibility of Delaying Implementation of Child Social Media Restrictions
The Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs, Meutya Hafid, has opened the possibility of delaying the implementation of the policy restricting social media access for children under 16 years of age. The government previously targeted the regulation to take effect on 28 March 2026.
Meutya stated that the government is still conducting cross-ministerial coordination to ensure the child protection policy in digital space can be implemented effectively. For this reason, a coordination meeting with several ministries was held on Wednesday, 11 March 2026, at the Komdigi office in Central Jakarta, to refine its implementation.
“We understand that the government has stated that on 28 March 2026 we will effectively implement the age restriction for children under 16 years for social media that we previously announced,” said Meutya before the coordination meeting commenced.
According to her, cross-ministerial coordination is necessary because the scope of this policy is very large. Indonesia has approximately 82 million children under 18 years of age. If referring to the 16-year-old age limit in the regulation, approximately 70 million children will be affected by the social media access restriction policy.
Meutya noted that this number is significantly larger compared to other countries that have implemented similar policies. “If similar regulations have been implemented in Singapore with approximately 5.7 million children, this is somewhat different because the scale is indeed quite substantial,” she said.
She explained that the policy restricting social media access for children did not emerge suddenly. The regulation is derived from the revision of the Law on Information and Electronic Transactions, which was passed in 2024.
The regulation was subsequently reinforced through Government Regulation Number 17 of 2025, which requires electronic system operators to provide protection for children. Subsequently, the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs issued a ministerial regulation in March 2026 to regulate its technical implementation.
In its implementation, the government involves several ministries, including the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, as well as the National Population and Family Planning Board.
Meutya stated that the government wishes to ensure Indonesian children can grow in a safe, healthy digital environment that supports their development. For this reason, the government continues to refine coordination before the regulation is implemented effectively.