Indonesia seeks public input on social media restrictions for children

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi) Ministry has assured the public that it will first seek inputs from various relevant parties before deciding on the plan to restrict social media access for children.

The government is in the process of formulating a regulation that aims to introduce age limits and ensure greater safety for kids on social media.

"We will first gather opinions from all relevant stakeholders and parties to identify the actual problem. It would be imprudent to impose a limit right away," Komdigi Deputy Minister Nezar Patria noted in a statement received here on Monday.

Speaking during a podcast held in South Jakarta on Friday (January 24), he highlighted that the government would involve teachers, parents, social media platforms, academicians, psychologists, and relevant organizations in drafting the planned regulation.

Patria then underlined that the drafting initiative stems from complaints the government received from members of the public, who voiced their concerns regarding children becoming addicted to gadgets and accessing harmful items of content.

"This idea does not originate from the Komdigi Ministry, as we are merely responding to reports. We are well aware that many parents have grown worried about their children's addiction to gadgets, social media platforms, games, and others," he elaborated.

Acknowledging the concerns, the deputy minister contended that children who access age-inappropriate digital items of content tend to be exposed to the risk of mental issues.

On that note, he emphasized that the government's objective is to devise a regulation that can help keep Indonesian children away from potentially harmful content while promoting positive content on social media platforms.

"Note that social media offers benefits as well, and I believe that its positive impacts far outweigh the negative ones," he added.