Indonesia shuts down access to social media for youth under 16

Indonesians under 16 years of age can no longer access digital platforms that could expose them to pornography, cyberbullying, online scams and addiction, including major social media platforms. According to news from the Associated Press, this week’s implementation of its online safety regulation makes it the first country in Southeast Asia to ban children from having accounts on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox.

Indonesia’s Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid says “the government has instructed all digital platforms operating in Indonesia to immediately bring their products, features and services into compliance with applicable regulations. There will be no compromise on compliance, and every business entity operating in Indonesia is required to comply with Indonesian law.”

The minister says the regulation will apply to around 70 million kids in Indonesia – and acknowledges that it won’t be easy to enforce. “This is certainly a task. But we must take steps to save our children.”

To prepare for implementation, the Indonesian government consulted with Tony Allen of the Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS), to get more familiar with the ISO-IEC 27566-1 standard on privacy preserving age assurance.

Challenge to regulate without robbing kids of online experiences

Indonesia finds itself joining those nations attempting the balancing act of keeping kids away from age-restricted content, while not choking their online lives.

It is driven by what are emerging as global concerns: parents worried their kids’ lives have been overtaken by digital interactions at the expense of their mental health, and that the platforms most responsible know what they’re doing, and won’t stop unless they’re forced to.

And it comes with the same worries that, in taking away social media, the government is depriving kids of legitimate opportunities for learning, entertainment and connection. Critics of age restrictions often point to the toll of isolating LGBTQ youth, and the issue could be amplified in Indonesia, where two provinces still classify same-sex relationships as a criminal offense.

Minister Hafid says factors that qualify platforms as high-risk include how easy it is for children to become exposed to strangers, potential predators and harmful content in general. Taking as an example the recent problem of nonconsensual deepfake porn generated by X’s chatbot, Grok, it is hard to argue that social media should not count.

Which means the risks and the connections are coming from the same place – and that creates an ethical and regulatory puzzle that the world is currently trying to solve. Australia’s Social Media Minimum Age act has broken the ground, but how exactly to cultivate the right approach remains unsettled.

A common problem is circumvention. TechRadar reports that use of Virtual Private Networks has already spiked in Indonesia. Why enact laws, say critics, when kids are smart enough to get around them?

Hafid frames the problem in existential terms. “We are taking this step to reclaim the sovereignty of our children’s future,” she says. “We want technology to humanize people, not sacrificing our children’s childhoods.”

Muted promises of compliance from affected platforms

Response to Indonesia’s law has been quiet.

AP quotes a YouTube representative who says the company “supports the Indonesian government’s effort to create an effective, risk-based framework that addresses online harms while preserving access to information and digital opportunity.”

“We are ready to engage under the regulation’s self-assessment approach to demonstrate our long-standing safety rigor,” the company says.

TikTok’s newsroom page says it will “continue to engage constructively with The Communication and Digital Affairs Ministry in the self-assessment process, and expect that the regulation will be applied fairly and consistently across all social platforms.”

Prasasti Dewi is project director for ICT Watch, a civil society organization founded in 2002 to run digital literacy initiatives and movements in Indonesia. In a comment on LinkedIn, she says “children will always find a way.”

“As discussions on age assurance continue to grow,” she says, “one thing is becoming increasingly clear: keeping children safe in digital spaces requires a more holistic and empathetic approach – one that includes safety by design, digital literacy, caregiver support, and a strong commitment to children’s rights.”

Article Topics

age verification  |  biometrics  |  children  |  Indonesia  |  regulation