Indonesia bans social media for children under 16 News
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Indonesia bans social media for children under 16

Indonesia announced on Friday a new policy banning social media and online platforms for children under the age of 16, aiming to protect youth from online abuse. Under the new regulation, existing accounts belonging to users under 16 will be deactivated starting March 28.

Communications and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid stated that the restriction will initially apply to major platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, BigoLive, and Roblow. Hafid noted the policy is the first of its kind for a non-Western country.

The new Indonesian policy follows a similar legislative move by Australia, which began implementing social media restrictions for users under 16 in 2025. Australia’s policy included halting the creation of new accounts and deactivating existing ones across platforms such as TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, and Threads.

Although the broad age-based bans were introduced to protect youth, human rights organizations have critiqued such policies. Amnesty International expressed concerns about Australia’s ban, describing it as an “ineffective quick fix.” Amnesty Tech Programme Director Damini Satija stated, “A ban is an ineffective quick fix that’s out of step with the realities of a generation that lives both on and offline. The most effective way to protect children and young people online is by protecting all social media users through better regulation, stronger data protection laws and better platform design.”

Addressing potential public pushback, Hafid acknowledged that the implementation would bring challenges. She stated that while the policy may cause complaints from children and confusion among parents, the ban is still necessary to mitigate online threats such as porn, cyberbullying, fraud, and addiction.

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