JAKARTA, March 28 (Bernama) -- Indonesia on Saturday officially banned social media use for children under the age of 16, as the government began implementing its landmark digital safety regulation, PP Tunas.
The Tata Kelola untuk Anak Aman dan Sehat Digital (Tunas) policy, which mandates the phased deactivation of accounts belonging to underage users on high-risk platforms, positions Indonesia as the first non-Western country to enforce such a nationwide restriction based on regional regulatory developments.
Communications and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said the implementation reflects Indonesia’s commitment to digital sovereignty and child protection, following a one-year transition period since the regulation was signed by President Prabowo Subianto.
She said the government had given electronic system operators (PSEs) sufficient time to align with the rules, including submitting compliance commitments and action plans.
“Based on the compliance scale, we can convey that compliance status is dynamic. This means that what we are announcing reflects the status as of tonight, and we are still awaiting developments until tomorrow,” she said in a press conference on Friday night. A video of the press conference is available on the ministry’s Youtube account.
Meutya said as of 9.30 pm Friday, two platforms, namely X and Bigo Live, had demonstrated full compliance by implementing age restrictions and committing to account identification and deactivation measures.
She said X had raised its minimum age requirement to 16 and updated its community guidelines, while Bigo Live had increased its age classification to 18+, including submitting changes to app store ratings and implementing layered moderation systems using artificial intelligence and human verification.
Meutya said two other platforms, namely Roblox and TikTok, were assessed as partially compliant and had been urged to complete their obligations promptly.
She said Roblox had proposed limiting users under 13 to offline use, while TikTok had committed to gradually deactivating accounts of users below 16 and would announce an operational roadmap for users aged 14 to 15.
Meutya stressed that there would be no compromise on compliance, reiterating that all digital platforms operating in Indonesia must adhere to national laws.
“Every business entity operating in Indonesia must comply with the applicable regulations in Indonesia, she emphasised.
Addressing comparisons with other jurisdictions, Meutya said child protection standards must be applied universally.
“Children in Indonesia are just as valuable as children anywhere in Australia...There should be no situation where child protection rules are followed in some countries but not in others,” she said.
On data protection, Meutya said the regulation aims to safeguard children’s personal data, which is currently widely exposed across social media platforms.
“Children do not yet understand which data should not be shared… and children’s data is also exploited for monetisation purposes,” she said.
The ministry said the rollout of PP Tunas would be conducted in stages, starting with major platforms, with enforcement to be expanded progressively.
Reiterating the government’s enforcement stance, Meutya stressed that authorities retain full powers to act against non-compliant platforms in accordance with existing laws.
“The government has the authority to take enforcement measures in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations,” she said.
-- BERNAMA
