Official! Social Media Access Restrictions for Children Under 16 Start Today
Regulations restricting social media access for children under the age of 16 are officially enforced starting today, 28 March 2026. The government has stressed that this policy is part of the implementation of the Government Regulation on the Governance of Electronic System Operators in Child Protection, or PP Tunas, which aims to strengthen child protection in the digital realm.
The Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs (Menkomdigi), Meutya Hafid, emphasised that this regulation is an important step in safeguarding the safety and future of Indonesia’s young generation amid the rapid development of technology.
“There is no compromise on compliance. Every digital platform operating in Indonesia must adhere to the applicable regulations,” Meutya stated during a press conference on Friday evening (27/3/2026), quoted from detikInet.
Further, Meutya explained that this regulation is a mandate of digital sovereignty established by the government a year ago. Indeed, the government has provided a one-year transition period to Electronic System Operators (PSE) to adjust their policies and systems.
And now, implementation is being carried out gradually by assessing the compliance level of each platform.
“Indonesia will implement PP Tunas starting 28 March 2026. The government has provided a full one-year transition period since 28 March 2025 for electronic system operators to make improvements,” Meutya clarified.
“Children in Indonesia have the same value as children in any other country. Therefore, the principle of protection must apply universally without discrimination,” she added.
Before the regulation was enforced, Komdigi had already requested several digital platforms to submit commitments and action plans for compliance with the new rules.
Based on the government’s latest evaluation up to Friday evening at 21:30 WIB, several platforms have shown varying levels of compliance. Meutya mentioned that at least two platforms assessed as the most cooperative in fulfilling the PP Tunas provisions are platform X and Bigo Live.
Platform X, according to Meutya, has raised the minimum user age limit to 16 years since 17 March 2026. This policy has also been incorporated into their user guidelines and community rules.
“Platform X has also committed to identifying and deactivating accounts of users under that age starting tomorrow,” Meutya said.
Meanwhile, Bigo Live has also raised the user age limit to 18 years in its user agreement and privacy policy. This platform has also submitted changes to the app’s age classification in the app store from the previous 13 years to 18+.
In addition, Bigo Live reported that it will implement a multi-layered moderation system utilising artificial intelligence and manual verification to monitor user accounts suspected to be under the permitted age.
Furthermore, according to the Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs, there are two other platforms, namely Roblox and TikTok, which are assessed as only showing partial compliance.
Roblox is reportedly preparing adjustments to features for users under 13 years old by limiting offline gaming activities.
Meanwhile, TikTok has expressed a commitment to gradually deactivate accounts of users under 16 years old. The platform is also scheduled to announce an operational roadmap for users aged 14 to 15 years.
Nevertheless, the government has emphasised that all digital platforms operating in Indonesia must comply with the regulation.
“There is no compromise on compliance. Every business entity operating in Indonesia must adhere to the laws applicable in Indonesia,” Meutya asserted firmly.