Indonesia has become the first country in South-East Asia to ban children under the age of 16 from using social media, as governments around the world move to protect young people from online harm. The measure came into force on Saturday, with children set to be blocked from creating accounts on platforms including YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox, all of which the Indonesian government has classified as high risk.
The ban covers around 70 million children, who make up roughly a quarter of Indonesia's 280 million population. Enforcement and account deactivation are expected to be rolled out gradually.
Communications Minister Meutya Hafid said on Friday that X and Bigo Live had already fully complied and called on other platforms to align their products and services with the new age rules without delay. She said there was no room for compromise on the matter. The government has said it will impose fines on platforms that fail to comply and has not ruled out a nationwide ban on those that refuse.
The move follows growing concern about the impact of social media on children's mental health, exposure to online pornography, cyberbullying and internet addiction. Several platforms issued statements pledging to adhere to the new rules.
Child safety advocates welcomed the decision. Diena Haryana, founder of a Jakarta-based online safety non-profit, said research suggested social media use could affect children's mental health and that young people needed guidance on when and how to engage with digital technology. She urged parents and schools to help children find enjoyment in real-world activities.
However, some experts cautioned that the ban could be easily circumvented through Virtual Private Networks, raising doubts about how effective enforcement would be in practice.
Indonesia follows Australia, which in December became the first country in the world to restrict social media access for under-16s. Since that ban took effect, platforms have revoked access to approximately 4.7 million accounts identified as belonging to children.
Germany, Spain, France and Malaysia are among other countries considering similar steps. In the United Kingdom, the House of Lords this week voted in favour of a social media ban for children, in a move intended to pressure the government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer to act.
The Indonesian announcement comes days after a landmark legal verdict in the United States. A Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube negligent for designing apps that harmed children and teens and failed to warn users of the dangers. The jury awarded a total of $6 million in damages to the plaintiff, a 20-year-old woman identified as Kaley, who claimed that features such as auto-scrolling had made the platforms addictive, leading to anxiety, depression and body image issues.
The verdict is considered a bellwether for thousands of similar cases pending across the United States. Both Meta and Google said they planned to appeal.
