Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi) Minister Meutya Hafid stated that her ministry had been coordinating with relevant state institutions to advance the formulation of a regulation introducing age limits on social media access.
"The drafting process has progressed to our synchronization and harmonization with the State Secretariat Ministry and the Ministry of Law," Hafid told the media at her office in Central Jakarta on Tuesday.
Hafid reiterated that the Komdigi Ministry remains committed to the principles of transparency and inclusiveness in devising the social media rule, noting that her ministry had embraced social media platforms in the process.
"I can assure you that we have sought to involve them and other stakeholders," she told reporters.
Earlier, on January 30, the minister asserted that a legal instrument regulating children's access to social media is necessary to protect them from harmful content.
She said that the government deems such a regulation as vital to ensure children's greater safety from the increasingly varied and complex threats posed in the digital space.
"We are referencing the applicable Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law to devise a government regulation as a derivative provision," she remarked in Jakarta.
Hafid then added that the Komdigi Ministry would consider opinions from legislators, educational activists, parents, and child experts to draft the regulations.
Since then, the minister has provided more information and clarifying statements surrounding the awaited regulation.
During a meeting with the House of Representatives (DPR) on February 4, she explained that the rule is designed to ban children under 16 years of age from creating and using social media accounts on their own without parental supervision.
She, however, underlined that the planned regulation would 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 remarked.
Later, on February 18, Hafid highlighted that the drafting process had progressed to 90 percent, with President Prabowo Subianto set to announce the regulation once the formulation had been concluded.
