Following Australia, Indonesia is also introducing regulations that restrict social media (SNS) use by youths under 16. Australia is implementing measures to block minors under 18 from accessing inappropriate content across online services, including artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots.
On the 7th (local time), according to AP, AFP, and Reuters, Indonesia Communications and Digital Minister Mutia Hafid said the day before that she had signed a government regulation prohibiting the creation of accounts by those under 16 on high-risk digital platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X (formerly Twitter), and Roblox. The regulation will be rolled out in phases starting on the 28th.
Minister Hafid said, "Children face a range of risks from pornography, cyberbullying, and online scams to, most importantly, addiction," adding, "The government is here to help ensure parents are no longer fighting alone against the vast force that is the algorithm."
She noted, "We know there may be some inconvenience early in the implementation of this regulation," but emphasized, "We are taking this step to reclaim sovereignty over children's futures. We want technology to make humans more human, not to sacrifice children's childhoods."
With this, after Australia became the first in the world last December to block social media accounts for those under 16, Indonesia has become the second country to adopt the same measure.
Locally, there is support for the regulations, especially among parents. Jakarta resident Mariana, regarding social media use, told AP, "For minors, especially children, it is very concerning. Far too much freedom has been given to everything, including photos and videos," adding, "We need to manage social media properly once again."
Earlier, in January, Indonesia became the first in the world to block the Grok service after Grok, a chatbot developed by Elon Musk's AI corporations xAI, generated and distributed explicit deepfake images and videos using real people, including children. The block was lifted after xAI pledged improvements.
Australia, which moved ahead with youth social media regulation, is expanding the scope across the online sphere. Julie Inman Grant, Chairperson of Australia's online safety agency eSafety, announced the day before that starting on the 9th, all online services must block users under 18 from accessing inappropriate content for minors, such as pornography.
The measure applies to websites, search engines, app stores, and games, as well as AI chatbots. These services must prevent sexually explicit, violent, or suicide, self-harm, and anorexia-related content from being exposed to users under 18. For example, if a user enters search terms related to suicide, self-harm, or anorexia, related mental health support services will appear first in the search results.
Online services that violate the regulation face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (about 51.6 billion won). Going forward, users will have to undergo age verification procedures when accessing age-restricted content.
Inman Grant, the Chairperson, said, "We do not allow children to enter bars, liquor stores, adult shops, or casinos, yet there are no such safeguards in the online spaces where children spend a lot of time," adding, "With this regulation, meaningful protections for children have been put in place across the technology ecosystem."