Indonesia starts implementing social media restrictions for children under 16

## Summary
Advertisement Asia Indonesia starts implementing social media restrictions for children under 16 The restrictions began on Mar 28, making Indonesia the first country in Southeast Asia to ban children from having accounts on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox. Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST JAKARTA: Indonesia on Saturday (Mar 28) began implementing a new government regulation approved earlier this month that bans children younger than 16 from access to digital platforms that could expose them to pornography, cyberbullying, online scams and addiction. She said the government is focusing on enhancing the platforms' compliance for now. 03:04 Min Indonesia's social media ban for children under the age of 16 will take effect from Mar 28, making it the first non-Western country to restrict digital access for children. Related: ‘Social media is like fire’: Some wish Indonesia’s planned social media ban for youths can come sooner Roblox to introduce new controls in Indonesia to comply with child social media block Haryana said the effects of restricting access to social media and digital platforms to children under 16 will only be seen once the measure is in place — she predicted both complaints from children and confusion among parents.

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Indonesia starts implementing social media restrictions for children under 16
The restrictions began on Mar 28, making Indonesia the first country in Southeast Asia to ban children from having accounts on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox.
Teenage boys use their mobile phones to browse social media in Jakarta, Indonesia, Mar 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
28 Mar 2026 11:55AM
(Updated: 28 Mar 2026 12:19PM)
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JAKARTA: Indonesia on Saturday (Mar 28) began implementing a new government regulation approved earlier this month that
bans children younger than 16 from access to digital platforms
that could expose them to pornography, cyberbullying, online scams and addiction.
With the move, Indonesia became the first country in Southeast Asia to ban children from having accounts on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox.
It follows measures that Australia took last year in a world-first social media ban for children as part of a push for families to take back power from tech giants and protect their teens.
Indonesia has said that the implementation of the restrictions would be carried out gradually, until all platforms comply with the measure.
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In a press briefing on Friday night, Indonesia's Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said X has
committed to start identifying and deactivating accounts owned by minors from Mar 28, while Roblox has informed the government of its plans to have an offline mode for users under age 13.
“X has announced that it would enforce a minimum user age of 16 in Indonesia. They have published this on their help centre,” said Meutya, as reported by news outlet Jakarta Globe.
Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, on its Indonesia Online Safety Information page, gives 16 as the minimum age required for users in the country. “It’s not our choice - it’s what Indonesian law requires,” the page says.
Meutya did not say when Roblox's offline mode for children under 13 would go "live".
“Communications are still ongoing that online access for (Roblox) users under a certain age will be disabled," she reportedly said. “We still ask for (Roblox) to comprehensively comply with the rules.”
Meutya did not elaborate on age verification technologies at the briefing, Jakarta Globe reported. She said the government is focusing on enhancing the platforms' compliance for now.
03:04 Min
Indonesia's social media ban for children under the age of 16 will take effect from Mar 28, making it the first non-Western country to restrict digital access for children. The ban also extends to other digital platforms that the country has classified as "high-risk". According to the communication and digital affairs minister, there are about 82 million children under the legal age of 18 in Indonesia, and approximately 70 million of them are under 16. Chandni Vatvani reports from Jakarta.
In announcing the new regulation earlier in March, Meutya said the rule would apply to around 70 million children in Indonesia — a country with a population of about 280 million.
NOT AN EASY TASK
Meutya said high-risk digital platforms are identified by factors such as how easy it is for children to become exposed to strangers, potential predators and harmful content in general, as well as the levels of risk of exploitation and data security scams.
But she acknowledged that implementing the new regulation — even gradually as planned — will be difficult. Getting digital platforms to comply and then making them report deactivations of under-16 accounts is difficult.
“This is certainly a task. But we must take steps to save our children," she said. "It’s not easy. Nevertheless, we must see it through.”
Indonesian Minister of Information and Digital Affairs Meutya Hafid (right) at an elementary school in Depok, West Java, on Jan 6, 2025. (File photo: AP/Dita Alangkara)
Maura Munthe, a 13-year-old who spends roughly four hours a day on her phone on social media, including playing games on Roblox with her friends, said she feels “kind of 50-50” about the new government policy but mostly agrees with it.
Her peers in school, she says, worry they will miss out on all the fun and entertainment they now have access to.
“There are always other games on my phone, not only the online ones," she said. "I will likely play more

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## Expert Analysis

### Merits
- Besides X, Google-owned YouTube said it supports the Indonesian government's effort to create an effective, risk-based framework that addresses online harms while preserving access to information and digital opportunity. “We are ready to engage under the regulation’s self-assessment approach to demonstrate our long-standing safety rigour,” it said.
- Meta, YouTube found liable in landmark social media addiction trial Source: AP/Agencies(cc) Newsletter Morning Brief Subscribe to CNA’s Morning Brief An automated curation of our top stories to start your day.

### Areas for Consideration
- CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less In a press briefing on Friday night, Indonesia's Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said X has committed to start identifying and deactivating accounts owned by minors from Mar 28, while Roblox has informed the government of its plans to have an offline mode for users under age 13. “X has announced that it would enforce a minimum user age of 16 in Indonesia.
- The ban also extends to other digital platforms that the country has classified as "high-risk".
- NOT AN EASY TASK Meutya said high-risk digital platforms are identified by factors such as how easy it is for children to become exposed to strangers, potential predators and harmful content in general, as well as the levels of risk of exploitation and data security scams.

### Implications
- Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST JAKARTA: Indonesia on Saturday (Mar 28) began implementing a new government regulation approved earlier this month that bans children younger than 16 from access to digital platforms that could expose them to pornography, cyberbullying, online scams and addiction.
- Meutya did not say when Roblox's offline mode for children under 13 would go "live". “Communications are still ongoing that online access for (Roblox) users under a certain age will be disabled," she reportedly said. “We still ask for (Roblox) to comprehensively comply with the rules.” Meutya did not elaborate on age verification technologies at the briefing, Jakarta Globe reported.
- She said the government is focusing on enhancing the platforms' compliance for now. 03:04 Min Indonesia's social media ban for children under the age of 16 will take effect from Mar 28, making it the first non-Western country to restrict digital access for children.
- In announcing the new regulation earlier in March, Meutya said the rule would apply to around 70 million children in Indonesia — a country with a population of about 280 million.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers children, indonesia, social topics. Notable strengths include discussion of children. Areas of concern are also raised. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 1507.