Indonesia to limit social media entry for youngsters underneath 16, minister says

Meutya Hafid, Indonesia’s Communications and Digital Minister, says the federal government will ‘delay entry’ to social media accounts for youngsters underneath 16 by way of a ministerial regulation issued on March 6

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Indonesia will prohibit entry to social media platforms for youngsters underneath 16, its communications and digital ministry stated on Friday, March 6, making it the newest nation to set up on-line guardrails to scale back the dangers of dependancy and cyberbullying.

Plenty of governments have imposed curbs on social media for youngsters amid mounting issues over the influence social media is having on the security and psychological well being of minors.

Australia launched a ban on social media for under-16s in December, and Spain additionally stated final month that it could ban entry to social media for minors underneath 16.

Indonesia’s neighbor Malaysia introduced in November that it could additionally ban social media for customers underneath the age of 16 ranging from 2026.

Meutya Hafid, Indonesia’s Communications and Digital Minister, stated in a video assertion that the federal government will “delay entry” to social media accounts for youngsters underneath 16 by way of a ministerial regulation issued on Friday.

Beginning March 28, accounts owned by youngsters underneath 16 on “excessive danger platforms” will likely be step by step deactivated, Meutya stated, including the platforms embrace TikTok, Fb, Instagram, and Roblox.

“The method will likely be carried out step by step till all platforms carry out their obligations,” she stated, with out elaborating on what they should do to satisfy the brand new necessities.

“We realise this may increasingly trigger discomfort at first. Youngsters might complain and fogeys could also be confused coping with their complaints.”

“Our youngsters are going through dangers, from porn, cyberbullying, on-line fraud, to most significantly, dependancy,” she stated, including Indonesia would be the first non-Western nation to impose such restrictions.

TikTok, Meta, which owns Fb and Instagram, and Roblox didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

The particulars of the new regulation have but to be revealed. Ministry officers didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

Web penetration in Indonesia, a rustic of about 280 million folks, reached 79.5% in 2024, in accordance with a survey of 8,700 folks by the Indonesia web service suppliers’ affiliation.

The survey confirmed 48% of kids underneath 12 had entry to the web, with some respondents of that age group utilizing Fb, Instagram, and TikTok. The survey confirmed web penetration stood at 87% amongst “Gen Z” customers aged 12 to 27. – Rappler.com