Indonesia on Friday said it would ban social media access for children under 16, citing threats from online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and Internet addiction.
“Accounts belonging to children under 16 on high-risk platforms will start to be deactivated, beginning with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox,” Indonesian Minister of Communications and Digital Meutya Hafid said.
“The government is stepping in so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm. Implementation will begin on March 28, 2026,” she said.
Photo: DPA via AP
The social media ban would be introduced in stages “until all platforms fulfill their compliance obligations,” she added.
TikTok Indonesia and Google Indonesia did not respond to requests for comment.
An EU expert group began work this week on a similar social media ban for children after Australia required TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and other sites in December last year to remove accounts held by under-16s.
Brussels said it is keeping a close eye on how successful the Australian ban proves to be, with legal challenges already filed against it.
France, Denmark, Greece and Spain have been pushing for similar action at EU level, and India has been considering a teen social media ban of its own.
The government understood the new regulation “may cause some initial inconvenience” for users in Indonesia, but “we believe that this is the best step the government must take in the midst of a digital emergency,” Meutya said.
“We are taking this step to reclaim the sovereignty of our children’s future. We want technology to humanize humans, not sacrifice our children’s childhood,” she said.
YouTube said it was looking into the ban.
“We are reviewing the new regulation to ensure it supports this goal, empowers parents and preserves access to learning for millions of Indonesians,” a YouTube spokesperson said.
“We will continue to engage constructively with the government and remain committed to protecting youth in the digital world, not from it,” they added.
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