Indonesia’s planned ban on social media for under-16s: Effective protection or excessive restriction?
CNA
Some parents and experts question how realistic enforcement will be, whether children will find ways to bypass the restrictions, and how digital literacy can go in ensuring young people’s online safety.
JAKARTA: Like many of her peers, Rufaida Khansa As Salamiyah uses her mobile phone to capture memories, including that of family vacations. She then uploads these videos onto her YouTube account.
But the 10-year-old - who prefers to go by Aida - may soon lose access to that account by the end of the month. The Indonesian government had announced that it plans to ban access to social media for those under the age of 16 from Mar 28.
Communications and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said that move would make Indonesia the “first non-Western country” to introduce age-appropriate access restrictions in the digital space.
In announcing the regulation last week, Meutya said that parents ”no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm” as the accounts belonging to children under 16 on "high-risk" platforms will start to be deactivated, beginning with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live, and Roblox.
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