Meta, YouTube and TikTok Respond to Indonesia's Child Social Media Account Ban Rule

Several major digital platform companies have responded to Indonesia’s new government regulation requiring the deactivation of social media accounts belonging to children under 16 years of age, effective 28 March 2026.

Through official statements to KompasTekno on Tuesday, 10 March 2026, social media companies including Meta, YouTube, and TikTok have conveyed broadly similar messages.

All three platforms stated their support for the government’s objective to protect children in digital spaces, whilst also emphasising the importance of a careful approach to ensure the policy does not produce unintended consequences.

Meta, for instance, cautioned that banning social media could drive teenagers towards more dangerous and unmonitored websites.

TikTok has acknowledged that it is currently coordinating with the government to understand the implementation of the policy.

The regulation in question is the Ministry of Communication and Digital Infrastructure Regulation Number 9 of 2026, issued on Friday, 6 March 2026. This regulation is derived from Government Regulation Number 17 of 2025 concerning the Administration of Electronic Systems in Child Protection (PP Tunas).

The policy targets several major digital platforms including YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Roblox to restrict access for child users.

Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, stated that it shares the same objective as the government.

“That is, to create a safe and positive online experience for teenagers,” said a Meta spokesperson to KompasTekno via instant message.

However, the company founded by Mark Zuckerberg also cautioned that restrictions on social media must be implemented carefully to avoid driving teenagers to seek alternative options that are actually more risky.

“For example, driving teenagers to shift towards more dangerous and unmonitored websites, or to login-free experiences that could bypass important protections,” said the Meta spokesperson.

Instagram and Facebook themselves require users to be at least 13 years of age to create an account.

When registering, users must provide their date of birth. For users aged 13 to 17 years, the platform automatically applies Teen Accounts settings with stricter levels of protection.