With YouTube Blocked, Indonesian Children Under 16 Can Switch to Watching Videos Here

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - YouTube Kids is confirmed to remain safe when YouTube complies with the PP Tunas regulation that limits users under 16 years old in Indonesia. This is because the regulation does not apply to apps specifically designed for children.

Head of Government Relations and Public Policy for YouTube Asia Pacific, Danny Ardianto, explained that YouTube Kids is part of the YouTube ecosystem but has a separate app.

“YouTube Kids is actually part of the YouTube ecosystem, but it’s also a separate app. The purpose of its users is different and it doesn’t even require an account, so it’s different from the main YouTube app,” Danny said during a press conference at the Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi) in Jakarta on Wednesday (22/4/2026).

Minister of Communication and Digital, Meutya Hafid, stated that the government is focusing on the main YouTube platform, not the YouTube Kids service. She also said that the app is entirely separate from YouTube.

“This is because the app is completely separate. Unlike other platforms where the app is a single unit or part, making supervision easier. So what we apply is to YouTube, not to YouTube Kids,” Meutya explained.

For information, YouTube Kids is a video app specifically for children. Parents can choose three content levels based on age: Preschool (under 4 years), Younger (5-8 years), and Older (9-12 years).

Access to the platform still requires parental verification. Even when installing the app and opening it, YouTube Kids asks to log in with a parent’s account.

In this initial period, Komdigi has included eight platforms in the high-risk service category, namely YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, TikTok, Bigo Live, and Roblox.

Only Roblox has not fully complied with the PP Tunas regulation nearly one month after the rule was officially implemented.

“Then we also need to add that Roblox is still communicating and hopefully in the near future we can also see the same compliance,” Meutya said.