The Ministry Of Communication And Information Technology Restricts Public Access To Social Media Based On Age

The government plans to establish regulations that restrict social media usage based on age, with the aim of protecting children in the digital space. 

The Minister of Communication and Digital (Menkomdigi), Meutya Hafid, announced that a decree has been signed to form a special task force dedicated to examining these restrictions. 

"In accordance with the President's directives and the commitment to enhance child protection in the digital realm, we are proceeding with the establishment of a task force to develop regulations for child protection on the internet, which may include age-specific social media access limitations," Meutya stated in Jakarta on Sunday, February 2 

The task force will comprise representatives from various ministries, academics, child education advocates, the child welfare organization Save The Children Indonesia, psychologists, and other relevant institutions, and will commence its work on Monday, February 3. 

"The President has expressed a desire for expedited regulations regarding child protection in the digital space, aiming for completion as soon as possible, with a timeline of one to two months allocated for this task," Meutya added. 

Additionally, this regulation seeks to prevent children in Indonesia from accessing pornography online. Currently, Indonesia ranks fourth globally in terms of access to pornographic content. 

"This does not even address online gambling, which also targets children, as well as bullying, sexual violence against minors, and other negative aspects," she emphasized.  

According to data from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in 2024, the number of child pornography cases in Indonesia has exceeded 5 million over the past four years. 

Reflecting on a survey conducted by the Indonesian Internet Service Providers Association (APJII) in 2023, it was found that internet penetration in Indonesia reached 79.5 percent of the total population of 279.3 million, as reported by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS). 

Tag: Information Technology Menkomdigi Meutya Hafid