Indonesia says it will ban social media and other popular online platforms for children under 16, becoming the latest country to introduce restrictions aimed at protecting young people from online abuse.
Meutya Hafid, the country’s communications and digital affairs minister, announced that accounts for under 16s on “high risk” platforms would be deactivated from 28 March.
“This will start with platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live, and Roblox,” said Hafid, adding that the ban would make Indonesia “the first non-Western country to delay children’s access to digital spaces according to age”.
There was no immediate response from the affected platforms.
“Our children are facing increasingly real threats—ranging from exposure to pornography, cyberbullying, and online scams, to addiction, which is the most significant concern,” said Hafid.
“The government is stepping in so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of algorithm-driven platforms.”
Children’s charity Unicef reported in 2023 that roughly half of the 510 Indonesian children it surveyed had been exposed to sexual images on social media.
“As a working mum with two children, especially with a teenage son, I don’t have much time to constantly monitor what my son is doing in the digital world,” Amanda Kusumo, 42, told the BBC in response to news of the ban.
“With government regulations like this, it really helps ease our worries as parents,” she said, adding: “I’m confident that the government’s decision will ultimately bring positive benefits for both children and parents.”
Amanda’s 17-year-old son, Matt Joseph, said he saw the arguments both for and against the ban.
“It’s true that children still can’t fully manage their own screen time or control themselves when using their phones. But if the government chooses to completely block all platforms considered “risky” for them, I feel there might be a gentler, wiser way to approach it,” he said.
Matt Joseph feels that much of what young people enjoy comes from social media. If the government wants them to use it less, they need an incentive – such as improving what is available to watch on TV – he suggested.
“It would be nice to have entertainment that feels like it’s really meant for us, something that supports learning while still giving us joy.”
Indonesia’s child protection agency, meanwhile, said it could not comment on the government’s plans until it had studied them.
Nurul Izmi, at the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM), could not access the final draft of the regulation, but said in general that protecting children is not just about age restrictions, pointing out the European Union bans profiling ads targeting children.
“The basis of safe child protection regulation should also be safety by design,” she said.
Izmi also said implementing age verification means collecting children’s sensitive personal data, so it was crucial to ensure data collection follows the right principles.
She continued: “In protecting children in digital platforms, it’s essential not to overlook guarantees of access to information or children’s freedom of expression. In human rights, every restriction on rights must be based on lawfulness, necessity, and proportionality.”
The announcement comes after Australia became the first country to start forcing social media firms to block users under 16 from having accounts on their platforms in December – a policy being closely watched by other world governments.
Critics have called on the Australian government to extend the ban to cover online gaming sites like Roblox and Discord, which are not currently included.
There have also been concerns that age assurance technologies would wrongly block adults while failing to spot underage users.
Spain is among other countries that have said they will follow Australia’s lead.
Earlier this week, the UK launched a public consultation on whether to introduce a similar ban, inviting young people and their parents and guardians to submit comments ahead of a government decision on the proposal.
Indonesia has previously taken steps to prevent access to sexually explicit material online, including blocking access to the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Grok.
Other online sources of pornographic material, including OnlyFans and Pornhub, have also been banned in the country.
