Indonesia to Block Children Under 16 From Social Media

The ban is to take effect March 28, according to a government minister, but details about how it would be carried out were scarce.

Indonesia said on Friday that it would bar anyone under the age of 16 from access to social media, joining a growing list of countries that are enacting such restrictions in a bid to safeguard the well-being of children.

“The rationale is clear: Our children face increasingly real threats, including pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and, most importantly: addiction,” said Meutya Hafid, the minister of communication and digital affairs, in a speech posted online. “The government is here to ensure parents no longer have to fight alone against the algorithmic giants.”

Ms. Meutya said that starting on March 28, accounts of children under 16 on “high-risk” platforms would begin to be deactivated. The process will be carried out in stages beginning with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox, she said.

In a statement, a spokeswoman for Meta — the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and Threads — said the company had not yet received the official regulation from Indonesia and was awaiting further details. But she added that Meta believed that “parents should decide which apps their teens use” and that “governments considering bans should be careful not to push teens toward less safe, unregulated sites,” pointing to safeguards it offers in Teen Accounts on Instagram and Facebook.

Google, which owns YouTube; TikTok; Roblox; and Bigo Live did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

But Google has argued that an age-related ban would make children less safe online because they would use YouTube without an account, removing the parental controls and safety filters built to protect them. In January, Roblox said it would require age checks for users of all ages for access to the chat function.

Platforms that fail to fulfill their obligations to protect children will be punished, and not the children or the parents, Ms. Meutya added, but she did not provide details about how the ban would be enforced. The ministry said the punishments would come “in the form of warnings, administrative fines, temporary suspension and termination of access.”

Indonesia’s announcement reflects a growing consensus around the world that unfettered use of social media is bad for children. In January, Australia became the first country in the world to ban social media for children under 16. Malaysia is mulling similar restrictions. Last month, Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, announced plans to bar anyone under 16 from using social media.

In Indonesia, the world’s fourth-most populous country, the problem is particularly acute because of the large number of children online. According to the government, nearly 80 percent of children are already connected to the internet. That figure is comparable in high-income countries, though only 33 percent of children globally have internet access at home, according to UNICEF’s data from 2020.

“We recognize that implementing this regulation may cause initial inconvenience," Ms. Meutya said. “Children may complain, and parents may be confused about how to deal with their children’s complaints. However, we believe this is the best step the government can take in this digital emergency.”

“We are taking this step to reclaim sovereignty over our children’s future,” she added. “We want technology to humanize humanity, not sacrifice our children’s childhood.”

Muktita Suhartono and Rin Hindryati contributed reporting.

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