Understanding PP Tunas: More Than Just Blocking Children's Accounts

PP Tunas is widely discussed for its policy on blocking accounts for children under 16 years old on various digital platforms. However, this regulation is not solely about restricting social media access for children. Through Government Regulation Number 17 of 2025 on the Governance of Electronic System Operators in Child Protection, the government seeks to strengthen child protection in the increasingly vulnerable digital space, from exposure to harmful content, cyberbullying, online scams, to personal data exploitation. Therefore, PP Tunas emerges as an effort to organise the responsibilities of digital platforms to make the internet space safer for children, not merely by blocking accounts. So, what is meant in more detail by PP Tunas, which was recently inaugurated by the Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi)? Here is a complete review. This regulation is designed to protect children in the digital space, including when they use social media, online games, and other digital services. Therefore, PP Tunas is not only known as a rule that limits children’s accounts but also as a regulation that requires electronic system operators or PSE to create safer services for child users. Through this regulation, every digital platform is obliged to take more concrete protection measures. For example, platforms must filter content that could potentially harm children, provide easily accessible reporting mechanisms, and ensure handling or remediation is carried out quickly and transparently. In other words, PP Tunas places the responsibility for child protection not only on parents but also on technology companies that provide digital services. The birth of PP Tunas is driven by the increasing internet usage among children in Indonesia. According to data from the official Tunaspedia document accessible on djkpm.komdigi.go.id, 48% of internet users in Indonesia are children under 18 years old, while more than 80% of children access the internet every day with an average duration of about seven hours. The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) also records that 35.57% of young children can already access the internet. The government assesses that the digital space needs to be regulated more seriously so that children are not continuously exposed to risks such as inappropriate content, digital addiction, and personal data exploitation. Legally, PP Tunas is issued as a derivative of the mandate in Article 16A paragraph (5) and Article 16B paragraph (3) of Law Number 1 of 2024, which is the second amendment to the ITE Law. The main objectives of PP Tunas include providing protection for children in the digital space, realising child-friendly electronic system governance, guaranteeing children’s rights in using electronic systems, increasing PSE responsibilities, encouraging active roles from parents and society, and supporting a safe and sustainable digital ecosystem. PP Tunas did not emerge suddenly. This regulation is a derivative of the mandate in Article 16A paragraph (5) and Article 16B paragraph (3) of Law Number 1 of 2024, which is the second amendment to the ITE Law. Those articles mandate specific rules on electronic system governance that favour child protection in the digital space. In January 2024, the government through the Ministry of Communication and Digital began drafting implementing regulations related to child protection in the digital space. Throughout the drafting process, the drafting of PP Tunas involved 287 inputs from 24 stakeholders, ranging from ministries, civil society organisations, digital industry players, child groups, to parents. After receiving public input, the draft government regulation was discussed in an inter-ministerial harmonisation forum. At this stage, the government ensured that the regulation remained aligned with other regulations, such as the Child Protection Law, Personal Data Protection Law, and ITE Law, while maintaining a balance between digital innovation and children’s rights. After the draft was declared harmonious, the regulation draft was then submitted to the President of the Republic of Indonesia for approval as a government regulation. In early 2025, the President then established the regulation as Government Regulation Number 17 of 2025 on the Governance of Electronic System Operators in Child Protection, now known as PP Tunas.