Indonesia to ban under-16s from ‘high-risk’ social media platforms

Indonesia will begin restricting access to some social media platforms for users under 16 from March 28, marking one of the region’s toughest moves yet to curb children’s exposure to harmful online content.Communications and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid announced the measure on Friday, saying the government had signed a regulation that would gradually stop children under 16 from holding accounts on platforms deemed “high risk”.Hafid said the rule would apply to platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox. However, the ministry has not yet publicly set out the full compliance mechanics.“The basis is clear. Our children face increasingly real threats. From exposure to pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and, most importantly, addiction,” Hafid said in a media statement announcing the policy.She added that “the government is here so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giant of algorithms”.Indonesian Minister of Information and Digital Affairs Meutya Hafid, right, talking to students at an elementary school in Depok, West Java, Indonesia, on January 6. Photo: APThe move builds on a broader child online safety framework launched by President Prabowo Subianto last year aimed at strengthening protections for minors in the digital sphere.