Indonesia is planning to introduce a regulation to establish a minimum age for social media users as part of its efforts to protect children in the digital space, the country’s Communications Minister, Meutya Hafid, announced.
The move aligns with global trends, following Australia’s recent decision to ban children under 16 from accessing social media platforms. Australia also imposed fines for tech giants like Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, and TikTok, if they fail to prevent underage users from accessing their platforms.
While Minister Hafid did not specify the minimum age under consideration, she confirmed that the plan has the full support of President Prabowo Subianto. “We discussed how to protect children in the digital space,” Hafid said in a video uploaded on the president’s office’s YouTube channel. “The president said to carry on with this plan. He is very supportive of this child protection initiative.”
Indonesia, with a population of approximately 280 million, has a growing digital footprint. A survey conducted last year by the Indonesian Internet Service Providers’ Association revealed that internet penetration in the country reached 79.5%, based on data from 8,700 respondents.
