Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs has planned to impose age restrictions for social media access as part of efforts to protect children in the digital space.
Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said here on Sunday that she had signed a decree for the formation of a special team that will review the restrictions, including other regulations related to child protection in the digital space.
The team, which will operate starting from February 3, comprises representatives of several parties, including ministries, academicians, child education figures, Save The Children, psychological institutions, and child protection institutions.
"President Prabowo Subianto told us that he wanted the regulation on child protection in the digital space to be completed as soon as possible and we are given a timeline of one to two months," she remarked.
According to her, the measure is aimed at tackling the issue of pornographic content consumption among children as Indonesia is currently ranked fourth in the world for access to pornographic content.
In addition to pornography, she also highlighted several issues related to child protection in the digital space, such as online gambling, sexual violence, and bullying.
Based on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) data in 2024, the total number of cases of child pornographic content in Indonesia in the last four years reached more than five million.
Meanwhile, according to a survey by the Indonesian Internet Service Providers Association (APJII), internet penetration in Indonesia has risen to 79.5 percent in 2024.
The internet penetration among Generation Z or those born between 1997 and 2012 is quite large, reaching 87.02 percent. In addition, among those born after 2013, the penetration is also quite large, reaching 48.10 percent.
