Indonesia blocks 4.8 million underage social media accounts but are kids any safer?

Indonesia blocks 4.8 million underage social media accounts but are kids any safer?4-MIN READ4-MIN0ListenPublished: 5:00pm, 9 Jul 2026Indonesia’s attempt to keep children aged under 16 off social media platforms deemed high risk has quickly become one of the world’s biggest tests of online safety regulation, with more than 4.8 million suspected underage accounts removed or deactivated in the first three months of enforcement.For President Prabowo Subianto’s government, the figures are an early sign that major platforms are falling in line with its policy aimed at making the digital world safer for children. Communications and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid called TikTok’s first reported removals in April “an early victory for the public, parents, children in Indonesia and us”.But analysts and digital rights advocates say the real question is not how many accounts have disappeared, but whether those removals can be verified and if they have actually made children safer online.Select VoiceSelect Speed0.8x0.9x1.0x1.1x1.2x1.5x1.75x00:0000:001.00x