Indonesia considers linking social media accounts to national ID cards

As countries across Asia develop age assurance policies and schemes, the region is serving to illustrate the many possible branches that an online safety regulation could follow in achieving its goals, and the risks that come with certain approaches.

Indonesia restricted youth access to social media in March 2026, leading to the closure of some 4.1 million TikTok accounts and 600,000 YouTube accounts belonging to Indonesian users under 16 years of age. In making it the first non-Western country to implement age-based restrictions for young users, its government was clear in its intention to be steadfast in “reclaiming the sovereignty of its children’s future.”

Now, the government is proposing a plan to link social media accounts to phone numbers or Indonesia’s national ID cards (KTP), as a way to crack down on misinformation and digital fraud, including investment fraud and love scams – and eliminate the element of anonymity from social media.

Aktualita quotes head of the Government Communication Agency (Bakom) of the Republic of Indonesia, Muhammad Qodari, who compares the idea to how Indonesia treats SIM card registration, wherein mobile phone numbers are linked to subscriber identities. He believes attaching clearer user identities to social media accounts could help choke out fraudsters.

Government ID system ripe for misuse

The plan to make social media more traceable goes back to May 2026, when the government began exploring “a mechanism to make social media user identities clearer and ensure digital activities are accountable.”

For now, the plan remains in limbo, subject to public consultation and further study. Per the report, if the idea of using a KTP or official identity eventually develops into a regulation, “the government must still determine the technical mechanism while addressing issues regarding privacy protection, personal data security, and how the policy is implemented without interfering with the public’s right to use the digital space.”

Which is to say, making it mandatory to link social media accounts to phone numbers or KTP cards takes a step away from privacy-preserving age verification methods – and gestures, albeit vaguely, in the direction of scope creep.

Age assurance legislation is blooming across Asia, from Thailand to Singapore to the Philippines. Each brings its own specific contexts, and there will be value in observing where overlap occurs, and where customization is prioritized based on cultural and social norms around privacy, authority and identity.

Article Topics

age verification  |  identity document  |  Indonesia  |  KTP  |  national ID  |  social media