The Indonesian government is preparing to officially implement new regulations restricting children under the age of 18 from accessing social media, starting in March 2026.
Through the Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Digital, the government is ready to kick off the already drafted regulation known as Peraturan Pemerintah Tentang Tata Kelola Penyelenggaraan Sistem Elektronik dalam Pelindungan Anak (PP TUNAS), also known as Government Regulation Number 17 of 2025 concerning the Governance of Electronic System Implementation for Child Protection.
This regulation forms part of the child protection enforcement framework in the digital sphere, designed to address the growing prevalence of issues such as exposure to inappropriate content, cyberbullying and other risks arising from online interactions.
The Indonesian Minister of Communication and Digital, Meutya Hafid, emphasised that the policy is part of strengthening digital governance.
“God willing, we will start [the regulation’s implementation] next month [March 2026]. We hope all platforms will support and comply, because this regulation is solely to protect Indonesian children in the digital space,” she said in Jakarta on Friday, the 27th of February.
At one point, the age restriction policy raised concerns among some digital industry players regarding its potential impact on economic growth. The government, in response, stated that it had studied global practices before enacting this regulation.
“There is no innovation and no digital economy that targets crimes against children. If someone is impacted because we strengthen child protection, that is a policy choice we should make as a country,” Hafid continued.
Recent data by the Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Digital shows that 48% of internet users in Indonesia are children under the age of 18. Furthermore, more than 80% of Indonesian children access the internet daily, with an average duration of seven hours. The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) also noted that 35.57% of young children in Indonesia can already access the internet.
In a nutshell, as regulated by PP TUNAS:
- Children younger than 13 years old are only allowed to access low-risk digital products and services specifically designed for children, although parental permission is nevertheless required.
- Children aged between 13 and 15 are only allowed to access digital services with moderate risk, but still require parental consent.
- Children aged between 16 and 17 are allowed to access high-risk digital services, such as public social media, provided parental consent has been obtained.