Supporting PP Tunas, IDAI Emphasises Child Protection from Social Media Dangers

The government prioritises maintaining the quality of education. The Chair of Public Relations and Welfare, a member of the Indonesian Paediatric Society (IDAI), Bernie Endyarni Medise, stated that the implementation of Government Regulation No. 17 of 2025 on the Governance of Electronic Systems in Child Protection (PP Tunas) through Ministry of Communication and Digital Regulation No. 9 of 2026 is an appropriate step. “I agree. We must protect our children from the dangers of social media,” she told Media Indonesia on Thursday (26/3). Furthermore, she explained that social media is like a double-edged sword, with both positive and negative impacts on users. However, for children, the negative impacts are most dominant. “The use of harmful sites, online games, and social media can cause addiction, endanger children such as excessive purchases of online game characters, pornography, child grooming, and cyberbullying,” Bernie emphasised. Therefore, she believes that children’s use of social media should be supervised by parents. “So, children should use social media with parental supervision and adjusted to their age. Parents should also be assisted to remain smart in supervising their children,” she elaborated. On the other hand, the Minister of Basic and Secondary Education (Mendikdasmen), Abdul Mu’ti, expressed full support for the implementation of PP Tunas through strengthened regulations in educational units. He highlighted the issuance of Mendikdasmen Regulation No. 6 of 2026 on Building a Safe and Comfortable School Culture (BSAN). “We are carrying out this effort to build a school culture where an atmosphere of mutual respect, mutual honouring, and making the school a second home for our children grows. Its implementation is developed with governance that applies nine main principles, from humanistic to inclusive,” said Abdul Mu’ti. In addition, he introduced the 3S principle (Screen Time, Screen Break, and Screen Zone) as a guide for teachers and parents. This step is expected to integrate character education with civilised digital technology use, while limiting social media access for children under 16 years old. Entering the age of 13–15 years, children’s emotions have indeed developed more strongly, but their self-control is not yet mature. The biggest challenge does not lie in technical capabilities, but in the willingness of platforms to comply and the accuracy of systems in the local context. Amelia also highlighted crucial aspects that must be clarified, from age verification methods, third-party involvement, personal data protection, to complaint mechanisms and sanctions. Digital platforms must block accounts belonging to children under 16 years old; the first phase includes YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X (Twitter), Bigo Live, and Roblox. The government has officially restricted social media access for children under 16 years old starting 28 March 2026. This policy impacts around 70 million children in Indonesia.