Speaker of House of Representatives supports government restrictions on social media for children

Jakarta — The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, has expressed support for the government’s policy through the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi) to restrict social media usage amongst children under 16 years old.

According to her, the government should also expand this policy to other age groups, as other countries have already implemented such restrictions in order to protect children.

“Through the relevant Commission, the House of Representatives supports what the ministry has already undertaken to restrict social media for children,” Puan said after leading a plenary session at parliament complex in Jakarta on Tuesday.

She noted that excessive freedom in social media usage could have negative impacts on children. She therefore stated that social media usage policies need to be re-evaluated.

“Excessive freedom in social media is certainly not good for children,” she said.

Previously, the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs issued Ministerial Regulation Number 9 of 2026 on Friday, which regulates restrictions on access for children under 16 years old to digital platforms.

According to the regulation, derived from Government Regulation Number 17 of 2025 on the Governance of Electronic Systems in Child Protection (PP Tunas), children under 16 years old are no longer permitted to have accounts on high-risk digital platforms.

“Today we are issuing the Ministerial Regulation derived from PP Tunas. Through this regulation, the government is delaying account access for children under 16 on high-risk digital platforms, including social media and networking services,” said Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs Meutya Hafid in a statement in Jakarta on Friday.

Implementation of the PP Tunas-derived regulation will be carried out in phases beginning 28 March 2026.