The government of Indonesia will ban children under the age of 16 from using several social media platforms as part of new regulations aimed at protecting young people online.
Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid announced on Friday that she had signed a regulation prohibiting minors from creating accounts on high-risk digital platforms. These include YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live, and the online gaming platform Roblox.
The policy will be introduced gradually starting March 28, allowing platforms time to comply with the new rules.
Hafid said the measure is necessary because children face growing online threats, including exposure to pornography, cyberbullying, online scams and digital addiction.
“The basis is clear. Our children face increasingly real threats,” she said. “The government is here so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giant of algorithms.”
She acknowledged that the new restrictions may initially cause frustration among both children and parents as they adjust to the changes.
Earlier this week, the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs carried out a surprise inspection of the Meta Platforms office in Jakarta over concerns about how harmful content is handled on its services, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
Officials warned that the company had shown a low level of compliance with national regulations. Requests for comment sent to TikTok and Meta have not yet received a response.
Indonesia will become the first country in Southeast Asia to introduce such restrictions on children’s access to social media.
A similar move was introduced in Australia in December 2025, when social media companies removed around 4.7 million accounts believed to belong to children.
