Indonesia restricts social media access for children under 16 - Bloomberg
Kyiv • UNN
The country's authorities have mandated the deletion or closure of children's accounts on TikTok, Meta, and X. Tech giants have already begun to change rules and access settings.
The Indonesian government has restricted access to social media for children under 16. The country is the first in Southeast Asia to introduce such restrictions at the national level, UNN reports with reference to Bloomberg.
Details
Currently, there is no talk of a complete ban on social media platforms YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X, and Roblox, but the aforementioned platforms have come under strict restrictions. In Indonesia, children's accounts on these social networks must be closed or deleted.
Indonesian Minister of Communications and Digital Affairs Meutia Hafid stated that some social networks are already changing their rules. According to her, TikTok plans to gradually disable children's accounts.
At the same time, Roblox is changing settings for younger users, and the management of the "X" social network announced an increase in the minimum age to 16.
In addition, YouTube Indonesia stated that it supports the new regulation's approach, which is based on self-assessment of risks, "as opposed to a general ban."
Meta Platforms Inc. stated that it supports the "realistic implementation" of the new rules and will continue negotiations with the Ministry of Communications regarding its Facebook and Instagram services.
Recall
The UK government launched an experiment to restrict social media access for 300 teenagers. Tech giants Meta, TikTok, and X maintain a neutral stance.