PP Tunas Takes Effect, MUI Urges Parents to Strengthen Digital Literacy

The regulation (PP Tunas) is a state instrument, but moral education and exemplary behaviour at home are the primary keys in facing the increasingly intense flow of information. Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) has urged parents to improve digital literacy and supervision of their children’s activities on social media in line with the implementation of child protection regulations in the digital space. “The regulation (PP Tunas) is a state instrument, but moral education and exemplary behaviour at home are the primary keys in facing the increasingly intense flow of information. Besides government regulations, child protection requires a ‘fortress’ at the family level,” said Secretary of the MUI Advisory Board, Zainut Tauhid Sa’adi, when contacted from Jakarta on Sunday. Government Regulation Number 17 of 2025 on the Protection and Governance of Electronic System Operators in Child Protection (PP Tunas) officially takes effect from Saturday, 28 March 2026, after being issued by President Prabowo Subianto on 28 March 2025. Provisions in PP Tunas that officially take effect include regulating restrictions on access to digital platforms for children under 16 years old. Zainut stated that MUI appreciates and supports the firm, uncompromising steps in implementing PP Tunas. According to him, protecting children in the digital space is not merely a technical or administrative matter, but a constitutional and religious mandate to preserve the innate nature and future of the nation’s next generation, particularly from content that damages morals, mentality, and spirituality. From an Islamic perspective, he said, protecting children from exposure to negative content in the digital space is part of implementing maqashid al-syariah, particularly hifzhun nasal or preserving offspring. “We must not allow children to grow up in a toxic digital ecosystem. This aligns with the word of Allah SWT in Surah An-Nisa verse 9,” he said. MUI views the government’s step through PP Tunas as an embodiment of the fiqh principle tasharrufu al-imam ’ala al ra’iyyah manutun bi al-mashlahah, which means that a leader’s policies towards their people must be based on public benefit. In addition, MUI also urges global digital platforms to immediately comply with the regulation, given that child protection in the digital space cannot be negotiated and must be a priority above the business interests of technology companies. “Global platforms must not treat Indonesia merely as a large market while neglecting the safety of children. Compliance with regulations is mandatory,” he said. According to MUI, non-compliance with PP Tunas can be categorised as permitting potential harm (dharar) that threatens the development of the younger generation. “Removing harm is an obligation. If there are platforms that do not comply, then firm steps, including blocking, are a form of the state’s protection of its people,” he stated.