Indonesia is banning social media and other online platforms for young teens
Indonesia, joining the growing list of countries trying to protect youngsters from online harm, plans to ban social media access for its under-16’s
Communications Minister Meutya Hafid announced that accounts for under-16s on “high risk” platforms will be shut down from 28 March 2026.
“Our children are facing increasingly real threats—ranging from exposure to pornography, cyberbullying, and online scams, to addiction, which is the most significant concern,” Hafid noted.
She added that parents shouldn’t have to fight algorithm-driven platforms on their own, and that it’s up to the state to intervene.
In the first age-driven ban on social media outside Western countries, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and X are among the first platforms to be targeted by Indonesia.
Backing up the concerns is evidence supplied by UNICEF research from 2023 that found roughly half of 510 Indonesian children surveyed had seen sexual images on social media.
However, some parents and teenagers have mixed feelings about a ban.
Amanda Kusumo, a working mum with two kids, is confident the regulations will help, but her 17-year-old son Matt Joseph thinks otherwise.
He thinks the government needs to improve TV programming and other forms of content as an alternative to social media.
Digital rights advocate Nurul Izmi from ELSAM also warned that age restrictions alone aren’t enough.
She pointed to concerns about collecting children’s data for age verification and stressed the need to balance protection with kids’ rights to information and expression.
Indonesia is following Australia’s lead, where a ban on under-16s using social media came into effect in December.