Practitioner: PP Tunas Protects Children from Digital World Dangers

Sampit (ANTARA) - Forisni Aprilista, a practitioner in women’s and children’s protection in East Kotawaringin, Central Kalimantan, supports the implementation of Government Regulation (PP) Number 17 of 2025 on the Governance of Electronic System Organisers in Child Protection, known as PP Tunas. “I strongly agree, because with this regulation, it can prevent, or at least minimise, children becoming victims or being exposed to harmful content such as pornography, cyberbullying, data exploitation, and internet addiction among children,” stated Forisni Aprilista, who is the Chair of the Lentera Kartini Foundation in Sampit, on Saturday. Lentera Kartini is a group of activists for women’s and children’s protection. When founded on 12 April 2012, Lentera Kartini was a non-governmental organisation, and in August 2024 it became a foundation. Lentera Kartini directly provides assistance to women and children who are victims of violence. They also consistently visit schools and campuses to campaign on the dangers of free association, juvenile delinquency, including the adverse effects of social media use for children under age. Forisni is also the Chair of the Public Participation Forum for the Welfare of Women and Children (Puspa) in East Kotawaringin, fully supporting the implementation of PP Tunas, which among other things targets restrictions and protection for children under 16 on various digital platforms. As its name suggests, PP Tunas or ‘Wait Until the Child is Ready’, according to Forisni, aims to control so that children are only allowed to use social media when they are considered truly ready, so they can filter good and bad content and avoid negative impacts. According to Forisni, the threat of negative content has already occurred in all regions in Indonesia. Many children have been exposed and become victims, as frequently reported in the mass media. In particular, this issue is a serious concern in East Kotawaringin. It is known that in January, shocking facts emerged that two students and one civil servant in East Kotawaringin were suspected of being exposed to radicalism, originating from an online game. For this reason, Forisni supports the implementation of PP Tunas in the hope that it can protect and save children from the adverse effects of social media. She also hopes that the technical provisions of this regulation are made and enforced strictly so that they are not easily circumvented or violated. There needs to be concern and the role of all parties to protect and save children. Starting from the family environment, schools to the wider community to jointly educate, supervise, and protect children, including in the digital realm. “As we know, there have been many children who have become victims due to the misuse of social media and children’s lack of mental readiness in using social media. This needs to be a concern for all of us,” said Forisni Aprilista.