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KN-JAKARTA, Indonesia’s social media ban for children under 16 took effect on March 28, with the Communications and Digital Ministry warning of firm action against platforms failing to meet the policy. Only two digital platforms fully complied with the restrictions at launch, while the majority of major apps remained lagging. X announced that starting Saturday, only users over 16 are permitted to hold accounts in Indonesia, raising the platform’s general minimum age requirement from 13. The ministry’s enforcement stance signals that non-compliant platforms — including large names like TikTok, Meta, and YouTube — could face escalating penalties as the rollout continues.
Indonesia’s Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said the ministry has formally summoned Meta and Google for failing to comply with Government Regulation No. 17 of 2025 on Electronic System Governance for Child Protection (PP Tunas), along with its implementing regulation, Ministerial Regulation No. 9 of 2026. The ministry also issued warning letters to TikTok and Roblox, urging full compliance. Meanwhile, it commended Bigo Live and X for implementing age verification measures and deactivating accounts of users under 16.
Indonesia was introduced a social media ban for children under the age of 16, following Australia’s lead in protecting young people from potential online harms. The measure takes effect as U.S. tech giants face mounting scrutiny over youth safety and comes in the same week that Facebook owner Meta and YouTube were ordered to pay millions of dollars in a U.S. lawsuit for designing addictive products that caused harm to young people. The government first announced the ban earlier this month, saying it was taking action to prevent young people from online pornography, scams, cyberbullying, and internet addiction. In a first for Southeast Asia, children will be blocked from having accounts on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox, which the country has labeled as high risk. The regulation applies to around 70 million under-16s, the government said, who make up 25 percent of Indonesia’s 280 million population.
The Indonesian government has praised social media platforms X and Bigo Live for complying with new national regulations restricting children’s access to digital services, while warning other platforms to follow suit. Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said that both global platforms had shown full cooperation in adhering to Government Regulation No. 17/2025 on the governance of electronic systems for child protection. According to the government, X has officially raised its minimum user age to 16, as reflected on its help center page, and has committed to deactivating underage accounts starting March 28, 2026.
After being blocked by the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi) on Wednesday, the Wikimedia Commons site owned by Wikipedia was finally accessible again to Indonesian users on Thursday. The lifting of the block was announced directly by Wikipedia Indonesia through their official X (Twitter) account. The reopening of access to Wikimedia Commons came after many Indonesian users voiced their disappointment over the blocking. Wikimedia Commons itself is a platform frequently used to find reference images, videos, and audio for various purposes, including education.
Photo: Indonesia’s Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid, TualNews.com
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