Indonesia plans to follow Australia in setting social media age restrictions

Indonesia is preparing to introduce regulations that will establish a minimum age for social media users, a move aimed at safeguarding children online, according to recent announcements by the country's communications minister Meutya Hafid.

The initiative follows Australia's recent decision to prohibit children under 16 from accessing social media platforms. Under Australia's regulations, tech companies, including Meta, the owner of Instagram and Facebook, and TikTok, face fines if they fail to prevent underage users from accessing their services.

The Indonesian Minister Hafid did not specify the minimum age the new regulation would enforce but confirmed that Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto had given his full support to the plan.

According to a recent report by Reuters, in a video posted to the president's office YouTube channel Hafid stated, "The president said to carry on with this plan. He is very supportive of how this kind of child protection will be done in our digital space."

Internet penetration in Indonesia, a nation of approximately 280 million people, reached 79.5% in 2022, according to a survey by the Indonesian Internet Service Providers Association. The survey, which included responses from 8,700 people, revealed that nearly half of children under 12 had internet access. Many of these young users were found to be engaging with popular platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Among "Gen Z" users, defined as those aged 12 to 27, internet usage was even higher at 87%.