Protecting Children in the Digital Space: Data Security Must Be a Priority
The government’s commitment to creating a safe digital space for children through Government Regulation (PP) No. 17 of 2025 regarding the Governance of Electronic Systems for Child Protection (PP Tunas) has received appreciation from various parties. However, the implementation of this policy requires careful study to ensure it does not misdirect its focus and ignore more dangerous digital threats facing Indonesian children.
The General Chair of the Indonesian Game Association (AGI), Shafiq Husein, noted that public attention on PP Tunas has been overly focused on social media platforms and digital gaming services. He argued that most large platforms already possess relatively adequate child protection systems, including age restrictions, parental controls, content moderation, reporting systems, and AI-based monitoring that were updated even before the regulation was enacted.
Shafiq emphasised that the role of parents remains the most critical factor in protecting children in the digital sphere. Consequently, AGI hopes the government will strengthen the socialisation of PP Tunas so that the policy’s implementation is understood proportionally by all stakeholders. He also highlighted the lack of technical clarity regarding the regulation’s implementation at the industry level, which poses a significant challenge for game developers and digital economy actors.
According to Shafiq, the government must be cautious not to fall into a misplaced policy approach. He stated that the true measure of success is whether Indonesian children are better protected from online gambling, digital exploitation, cyber fraud, and other high-risk threats, rather than simply imposing new obligations on popular platforms. He added that effective regulation requires clear technical guidelines, adequate socialisation, and constructive dialogue between the government and industry players to avoid creating uncertainty in the digital economy sector.
Furthermore, Shafiq noted that the most significant threats often originate from high-risk platforms used for online gambling, illegal goods sales, digital fraud, and child exploitation. He argued that policy approaches should be directed at the largest sources of risk rather than the most popular platforms.
Similarly, the National Coordinator of the Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI), Ubaud Matraji, argued that restricting social media access for children could be a pseudo-solution if not accompanied by the strengthening of a safe digital ecosystem. He warned that mandatory age verification mechanisms could drive the large-scale collection of children’s personal data, including identities, residency documents, biometric data, and digital behaviour information. Without robust security standards, policies designed to protect children could create new vulnerabilities, such as data leaks, identity theft, and the digital profiling of minors.
Matraji concluded that Indonesia’s greatest challenge is the lack of a secure digital ecosystem and weak character education amidst technological disruption. The Minister of Religious Affairs has instructed all religious educational institutions to strictly monitor the implementation of PP Tunas to ensure children’s rights in the digital space are upheld.