Macron's remarks on Indonesia restricting children's access to social media
The Ministry of Communications and Digital Affairs (Komdigi) has formally issued rules prohibiting children under 16 from holding social media accounts. The policy has drawn praise from French President Emmanuel Macron. Through his X account, Macron responded to a post by AFP about Indonesia’s ban on social media use for under-16s. Macron thanked Indonesia for joining the movement to protect children from the dangers of the digital world: “Thanks for joining the movement.”
France is set to approve a bill banning the use of digital platforms by children under 15, the draft law approved by the National Assembly on 27 January 2026. France is the second country after Australia to implement restrictions on children’s social media use.
Earlier, DetikInet reported that the government via Komdigi formally delayed under-16s’ access to a number of high-risk digital platforms. This policy accompanies implementation of subsidiary rules to Government Regulation No. 17 of 2025 on the Governance of Electronic System Operators in Child Protection, also known as PP Tunas.
Minister of Communications and Digital (Menkomdigi) Meutya Hafid said the derivative rules began to be issued on Friday (6 March 2026) as a step to strengthen protection of children in the digital space. “Today we issue a Ministerial Regulation as a derivative of PP Tunas. Through this regulation, the government delays under-16s’ access to high-risk digital platforms, including social media and networking services,” she said on Friday (6 March 2026).
She added that the policy makes Indonesia one of the first non-Western countries to implement age-based restrictions on access to digital platforms. According to Meutya, the policy was taken because children are vulnerable to various internet dangers, from exposure to negative content to the risk of digital addiction. “The rationale is clear. Our children face threats that are increasingly real, from exposure to pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud, to addiction,” she said.
Implementation will begin on 28 March 2026. The government will deactivate accounts owned by under-16s on high-risk platforms, including YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, and Bigo Live. Komdigi said the deactivation process would be carried out gradually until all platforms comply with obligations set in the regulation. Meutya acknowledged that implementation of the rules may cause initial discomfort for both children and parents. “We realise the implementation of this regulation may cause initial discomfort. Children may complain, and parents may be puzzled by their children’s complaints,” she said. She emphasised that the policy is designed to assist parents in protecting children from the negative impacts of the digital space, so oversight of technology use is no longer solely a family burden.