Why Indonesia is forcing Big Tech to play by its rules, starting with Meta and children’s accounts

Indonesia is tightening tech regulation, forcing Meta and other platforms to comply with local rules and protect children online. Read more at straitstimes.com.

JAKARTA – When Indonesian officials unexpectedly visited the Jakarta office of Meta Platforms on March 4, their message was blunt: The government wanted answers over disinformation and online gambling on the platform.

Two days later, Indonesia announced that a restriction barring children under 16 from holding accounts on major social media platforms would kick in from March 28.

The back-to-back moves signal a more assertive phase in Indonesia’s regulation of global tech companies that is years in the making, as the country grows less tolerant of platforms that fail to police harmful content and increasingly insists they play by local rules.

At the same time, the government appears to be flexing its political muscle to show that it is willing and able to stand up to wealthy tech giants, whose billion-dollar investments it is courting, analysts say.

Jakarta is pursuing what one researcher calls “digital sovereignty” – the push to bring the data, infrastructure and conduct of foreign tech giants under Indonesian jurisdiction.

“Basically, the idea is that anything that relates to the exchange, processing and storage of Indonesian data needs to be under the jurisdiction of and regulated by the Indonesian government,” said digital anthropologist Pradipa Rasid, who has a background in tech research.