Children face the risk of exposure to negative content and online bullying on social media platforms, Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs Meutya Hafid stated.
"This crisis is happening right now. Our children are losing focus, becoming addicted to social media, and growing increasingly vulnerable to online exploitation," she remarked in a statement issued on Wednesday.
In a meeting with representatives of global digital platform providers in Jakarta on Tuesday, Hafid emphasized the need for strict regulations to ensure children's safety in the digital realm.
"This is not merely about self-regulation by the platforms but also about the government's involvement," she stated.
She stressed the need to strengthen protections for children on digital platforms, noting that many children under 13 already have social media accounts despite platform restrictions.
"If the rules are not effective, there are gaps that must be fixed. We need social media platforms to enforce strict age restrictions effectively and not just rely on self-management mechanisms," Hafid stated.
Responding to input from digital platforms to empower parents in protecting their children online, she acknowledged the importance of parental roles. However, she noted that not all families have the same capacity to supervise children's digital activities.
Therefore, platform managers and the government must collaborate according to their respective capacities to provide broader and more fair protection for children in the digital space.
Besides enforcing digital platform access rules based on user age, the government is considering implementing additional policies, such as limiting screen time for children and improving the accuracy of user age verification mechanisms.
"We want to find a middle ground between government regulation and private initiatives. We must ensure our children can grow up in a healthy and safe digital environment," Hafid noted.
The government has discussed policies with various stakeholders, including digital platform providers, parliament, and communities, to design effective measures for protecting children online.
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Translator: Fathur Rochman, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Anton Santoso
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