Technology

Indonesia announces a social media ban for anyone under 16

2026-03-07 17:46
667 views
Indonesia announces a social media ban for anyone under 16

Following in the footsteps of Australia, Indonesia will be the latest country to limit social media usage for children under 16. Meutya Hafid, Indonesia's communication and digital affairs minister, a...

  1. Social media
Indonesia announces a social media ban for anyone under 16

The country will start its restrictions on social media and other digital platforms on March 28.

Jackson ChenContributing reporterSat, March 7, 2026 at 5:46 PM UTCAdd Engadget on GoogleReuters / Reuters

Following in the footsteps of Australia, Indonesia will be the latest country to limit social media usage for children under 16. Meutya Hafid, Indonesia's communication and digital affairs minister, announced that a new government regulation will require "high-risk" platforms to delete any accounts from Indonesia that are under 16, starting on March 28.

Hafid said in the announcement that the implementation would be done in stages, starting with major platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Roblox and Bigo Live, a live-streaming platform based in Singapore. The minister added that all platforms will have to fulfill compliance obligations from the Indonesian government, but didn't specify what they were. In response to the ban, a Meta spokesperson told The New York Times that the company hasn't received an official regulation from the country yet and was awaiting details.

While Australia was the first country to implement such a sweeping ban on social media, many other countries are currently in the process of doing the same. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced last month that the country is also ready to ban social media for users under 16, while Malaysia's cabinet approved a similar ban that will reportedly go into effect sometime this year.

Advertisement
  • About our ads