Indonesia schools to regulate screen time for students in support of social media ban for minors

Schools will designate regular screen breaks and areas for gadget use, said the Schools Minister. Read more at straitstimes.com.

JAKARTA – Indonesia’s Elementary and Secondary Education Ministry has begun introducing guidelines on the use of electronic devices at schools to support the implementation of a social media ban for minors under 16 which will come into force in less than three weeks.

The ban on digital platforms for children, which will gradually take effect starting on March 28, is contained in a ministerial regulation issued on March 9 by the Communications and Digital Ministry as the implementing regulation for Child Protection in Digital Space Regulation (PP Tunas) that was introduced in 2025.

Schools Minister Abdul Mu’ti said on March 11 that the guidelines on the use of gadgets essentially recommend “limiting screen time and designating regular screen breaks and areas for gadget use in schools”.

“We have started disseminating the guidelines in the hope that the implementation of PP Tunas can be carried out effectively,” he said after a multi-minister meeting on child protection in the virtual world hosted by the Communications Ministry in Jakarta.

According to Mr Mu’ti, schools have also disseminated the guidelines to parents.

In January, the Schools Ministry issued a regulation on creating safe and comfortable school environments, covering students’ physical, psychological and digital safety.