Two Days to Go! Social Media Ban for 70 Million Indonesian Children Begins

The government prioritises maintaining the quality of education. Do not be surprised if your child’s Instagram, TikTok, or Roblox accounts suddenly become inaccessible on Saturday (28 March). Starting from that date, the government will officially enforce a ban on social media use for children under 16 years old. This policy marks the initial step in implementing Government Regulation (PP) No. 17 of 2025, or PP Tunas, as well as Ministerial Regulation No. 9 of 2026. Currently, there are around 70 million children in Indonesia under the age of 16. This number is far larger than in Australia, which implemented a similar policy last December affecting about 5.7 million children. Through this regulation, the government will suspend access to accounts for children under 16 on high-risk digital platforms, including social media and networking services. “Through this regulation, the government will suspend access to accounts 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 early March in Jakarta. The implementation of derivative rules from PP Tunas will be carried out gradually starting 28 March 2026. In the initial phase, accounts belonging to children under 16 on several high-risk digital platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live, and Roblox will be deactivated. Meutya explained that the implementation of this policy will not be done all at once but gradually until all platforms meet their obligations in accordance with applicable provisions. She also acknowledged that this policy could cause discomfort in the early stages of implementation. Children may complain, while parents might feel confused about how to respond. Nevertheless, the government believes this step is the best effort to protect children from various risks in the digital space. “We want technology to humanise people, not to sacrifice our children’s childhoods,” said Meutya. She added that Indonesia is becoming the first non-Western country to impose restrictions on children’s access to digital platforms. According to her, this policy is intended to protect children from real threats in the digital space, such as exposure to pornographic content, cyberbullying, online scams, and addiction. Furthermore, she emphasised that through this regulation, the government wants to ensure that parents no longer have to struggle alone against the dominance of digital algorithms. PP Tunas itself was inaugurated by President Prabowo Subianto in March 2025. This regulation aims to regulate the governance of digital platforms as providers of electronic systems (PSE) to deliver services that are safe for children. With this policy, the government hopes that Indonesian children can be protected from various threats in the digital space, from cyberbullying and online scams to exposure to negative content such as pornography.