Indonesia to curb social media access for under-16s

Indonesia is preparing to restrict social media access for children under the age of 16, with accounts on high-risk platforms set to begin being shut down from late March in a bid to reduce digital addiction and cyberbullying.

The Indonesian government has announced measures to limit access to social media platforms for children under 16, making it one of the latest countries to introduce rules governing young people’s online use in order to reduce the risks of digital media addiction and online bullying.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Digital said on Friday that the government would implement measures to “delay access” to social media accounts belonging to users under the age of 16 through a ministerial regulation, which will take effect later this month.

Meutya Hafid, Indonesia’s Minister of Communication and Digital, said in a video statement that from March 28 onwards, accounts belonging to children under 16 on platforms classified as “high risk” would begin to be deactivated in stages.

Platforms covered by the measure include TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and Roblox

The minister said the account closures would be carried out gradually until the platforms fully complied with the government’s requirements, although full details of the new conditions have not yet been disclosed.

“We fully recognise that this may cause inconvenience at first. Children may complain, and parents may be unsure how to deal with their children’s complaints,” she said, while stressing that Indonesian children are facing multiple online risks, including pornographic content, cyberbullying, online fraud and digital addiction.

The Indonesian government also said the measure would make the country the first outside the Western world to impose this kind of restriction in a serious way.

Previously, several other countries had begun pursuing similar policies.

Australia announced a ban on social media use for children under 16 last December, while Spain also unveiled plans to restrict access for minors under the age of 16. Neighbouring Malaysia is meanwhile preparing legislation to ban social media use by under-16s from 2026 onwards.

However, major technology companies including TikTok, Meta Platforms and Roblox Corporation did not immediately comment on the measure.

Data from the Indonesian Internet Service Providers Association showed that in 2024, the country of around 280 million people had an internet penetration rate of 79.5%, based on a survey of 8,700 people.

The survey also found that nearly 48% of children under the age of 12 already had internet access, with some using platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Among Generation Z users aged 12 to 27, internet penetration stood at 87%.