PP Tunas Expected to Prevent Child Grooming and Provide Safe Space for Children

The Chairman of the Central Board of the Indonesian Paediatric Society (IDAI), Piprim Basarah Yanuarso, hopes that Government Regulation No. 17 of 2025 on the Governance of Electronic Systems in Child Protection (PP Tunas), which was recently enforced on 28 March by Komdigi, can prevent child grooming of children through social media. Restrictions on social media accounts for children under 16 years old are necessary due to numerous stories of cyberbullying, cybercrimes, including sexual crimes against children. Therefore, children must be given a safe space, both in the real world and in the social world. “The main point is actually how in the family, adequate attention is given to our children,” said Piprim online on Tuesday (31/3). Treat children as friends for discussion, companions, especially for teenagers. Do not let children thirst for affection, so they can easily be manipulated by people pretending to support or care, but actually have malicious intentions behind it. “Therefore, family activities together, sports activities together, going out together, having dinner together, for example, chatting and so on. This is very important to get used to in the family, so that children can communicate closely with their parents,” emphasised Piprim. Piprim explained that the role of parents is very important in listening and giving proper advice. Parents are expected not to rush to punish when children share their stories. Thus, children will not hesitate if there are problems or if strangers approach them and so on. “If the parents are annoying, how can the child communicate comfortably with their father and mother,” he said. “Because children then run to the virtual world. That is where criminals can enter by pretending to give attention, tests, and so on,” he concluded. Child grooming involves emotional approaches, psychological manipulation, and desensitisation to sexual behaviour. The North Sumatra Provincial Government recorded a surge in child violence cases dominated by sexual violence throughout 2025. The Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) highlighted the case of a teacher in Sukabumi who groomed his female student through content romanticising relationships. The challenges of digital space for children in Indonesia have now shifted from merely negative content to personal threats that are difficult to detect. The phenomenon of grooming children or child grooming is increasingly becoming a serious threat that often escapes detection. Cases that surface are considered only a small portion.