Speaking to the media at her office here on Tuesday, she confirmed that the regulation will introduce a minimum age requirement for creating a social media account, without substantially limiting children's access to services in the digital space.
"This provision is not a means to keep children away from the digital space and the Internet, considering that they can easily access digital services under their parents' permission. Therefore, our objective is to promote supervision from families, parents," she explained.
The minister informed the press that the social media regulation is over 90 percent complete, adding that President Prabowo Subianto is set to announce the legal instrument to reinforce the government's commitment to protecting children online.
She said that in drafting the regulation, the Komdigi Ministry has sought insights from academicians, digital platform operators, and communities advocating for children's protection.
Additionally, the ministry has been actively interacting with children of various ages to identify their concerns regarding the digital space.
She disclosed that her office has received visits from children and will continue to accept them to advance the formulation process.
The minister emphasized that the government is aware of the importance of involving children as the regulation is purely dedicated to their safety and well-being.
"I would like to reiterate the need to heed feedback from children of various ages, backgrounds, ethnicities, and regions," she added.
The minister had made similar statements during a meeting with legislators of Commission I of the House of Representatives (DPR) in Jakarta on February 4, 2025.
She indicated that the regulation will ban children aged under 16 from creating and using social media accounts on their own without parental supervision.
However, the planned regulation will not hinder parents from allowing their kids to access social media platforms through parental accounts.
"It would be very difficult for the government to oversee parents who lend their phones to their children. Thus, our aim is to formulate a regulation with clear, measurable indicators. We cannot monitor things occurring at home," she said.
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Translator: Livia K, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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