Jakarta - The government of Indonesia on Friday, 6 March 2026 said it starts restricting children under 16 years old from social media access, becoming the first non-western country to apply such kind of regulation, Communication and Digital Minister said.
The put-off children under 16 years-old from high-risk digital platforms, including social media, will come into effect by 28 March 2026.
"Under the regulation, the government put-off children under 16 years-old' accounts at high-risk digital platforms, including social media and network services," Communication and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid said.
She said the measure is taken due to the impacts of the access for the minors such as affected by pornography, cyber bullying , online scamming and the most important thing is additive.
"It means Indonesia becomes the first non-western country regarding postponing under aged children access in digital rooms," she added.
"The implementation will begin on 28 March 2026, high-risk digital platform accounts of children under 16 years-old begun to be deactivated, starting from YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox," Minister Meutya explained further.
She said the ban will be implemented gradually, realizing the policy may cause uncomfortable and confusion among parents and children, however this is the right measure that must be taken by the government.
"We take this measure to reclaim the future of our children. We want the technology humanized human, not sacrificing the childhood period of the children," the former journalist said in the ministry's social media broadcast.***
