Indonesia signals social media ban for kids

Indonesia is set to introduce preliminary regulations to limit social-media use for children, following Australia’s move prohibiting children under 16 from such sites.

Indonesia plans to follow Australia in regulating children’s use of social media

Indonesia is set to introduce preliminary regulations to limit social-media use for children, following Australia’s move prohibiting children under 16 from such sites.

The government said planned full legislation was part of the government’s strategy to protect children from online dangers.

Communication and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid said parliament would be consulted and regulations overseas would be studied before any child-protection laws were enacted.

MP Dave Laksono argued that there was a need for government intervention to protect the nation’s children from the negative impacts of social media.

“We must ensure that our children do not grow up influenced by inappropriate content that could harm their mental and emotional wellbeing, and potentially affect their morals and values,” he said.

The Australian parliament last year passed a ban on social media for children, a world-first law due to take effect late this year.

The law will make platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram ­liable for fines of up to $50m for systemic failures to prevent children younger than 16 from having an account.

No such clear age bracket has been decided upon in Indonesia, with ministry director-general Alexander Sabar saying the draft regulation would make a specific age group with its own specific content and social media access limitations tailored to their level of development.

“We categorise children’s ages clearly, for example, ages 13 to 15, where parents have veto rights over their children’s social media access,” he told national radio on Tuesday.

Corporate leaders in Indonesia have raised their concerns over significant social media use among children and the potential exposure to advertisements for online gambling.