JAKARTA: (Bernama) Indonesia has deactivated about five million underage accounts from digital platforms after implementing the Government Regulation on Electronic System Governance for Child Protection.
Communications and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said the figure was recorded through cooperation with digital platforms.
"Together with the platforms, we have removed five million child accounts. Although five million users is still small compared to our target, in global terms, this has surpassed what TikTok achieved in Australia,” she said on late Tuesday (Aug 4), according to Antara news agency.
Meutya said Indonesia had adopted a risk-based approach to protecting children online instead of imposing a blanket age ban, as adopted by Australia, where children under 16 are prohibited from accessing digital platforms classified as high risk.
The regulation, known locally as PP Tunas, is intended to encourage technology companies to redesign their services for the Indonesian market to better protect children.
For example, gaming platform Roblox has disabled its chat function by default for Indonesian users under 16 unless parental consent is obtained.
"We hope that going forward, it will not just be a ban on children creating accounts, but a broader movement encouraging platforms to transform,” she said.
However, Meutya acknowledged that implementation remains challenging, particularly in age verification, as many technology companies have yet to adopt more advanced methods such as age estimation algorithms, facial verification or behavioural analysis.
She said the current framework requires companies to submit self-assessments outlining the level of risk posed by their services.
The ministry has so far reviewed submissions covering 200 platforms operated by 79 Electronic System Providers, with eight platforms classifying themselves as high risk, added Meutya. - Bernama
