Indonesia is now stepping up to affirm child online safety in 2026. After the signing of Indonesia’s Government Regulation No. 17 of 2025 widely known as PP Tunas, Indonesia is now blocking children from risk sites.
By doing so, Indonesia joins the ranks of the world’s toughest on child online safety, moving beyond filtering to banning. This is impacting millions of households.
An Overview of PP Tunas
The PP Tunas regulation aims to shield children from online threats, such as cyberbullying, scamming and inappropriate material. This regulation takes an access control approach rather than merely controlling advertising or tracking activity.
The latest regulations require social media sites deemed “high-risk” to block under-16s from owning accounts. It is a proactive approach to minimising the risk for children, instead of restricting their access in unsafe online communities.
Under-16 Account Removal Drive
Since the policy came into effect, it has been discovered that large digital platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube have begun to block underage accounts.
According to reports, groups of millions of accounts have been shut down, impacting a significant percentage of Indonesia’s young people. This is not a mere gesture but is a wholesale digital house-cleaning that has platform operators and parents on edge.
This also affects the gaming and streaming industry (such as Roblox and X) who are being compelled to provide more robust age verification tools.
‘No Ads for Kids’ Regulation
A key component of the regulation is the “No Ads for Kids” rule. For those between 13 and 15 years old who may access less risky websites, the online world has been transformed.
In particular, companies can no longer use personal data for targeted advertising. There should be no behavioral advertising, no profiling and no targeted advertising.
They must also remove manipulative designs, also known as “dark patterns”, in apps that do promote data collection from children. There must also be default privacy settings for optimal protection.
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Getting Age Verification Right
As companies begin to comply with the new rules, advanced age verification is being put in place. These range from government-issued ePassports to artificial intelligence-based facial recognition to establish age.
This step is towards more enforcement, in which age declarations are no longer enough. Sites and apps are required to verify someone’s identity to make sure children don’t view age-based content.
This means that accounts may be deleted if they fail to engage in verification.
Impact on Parents and Kids
For children, there will be a big change in what they can and can’t do, and many questions and objections.
But the government is making it clear that safety is first. Excluding children from dangerous communities, the policy seeks to limit their risk of interacting with bad actors and algorithms.
Parents should now teach their children to use educational websites and apps and be more vigilant about their internet use.
Worldwide Effort to Protect Kids Online
Indonesia joins in a worldwide trend to protect children from potential social media harms. Other countries, including Australia, have already put similar limits in place, indicating a trend in tighter regulation.
It’s not only about content regulation, but also access – restricting it for young people. This may be something that others adopt in the future.
FAQs
Why is Indonesia banning child accounts?
Indonesia is implementing more stringent online safety measures to prevent children from being exposed to cyberbullying, scammers, inappropriate content and “addiction” by banning minors from high-risk platforms.
Where’s the ban being applied?
Exposure to high-risk platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, X and Roblox requires users younger than 16 years old to be deleted.
How do we prove our age?
Companies rely on state-of-the-art technologies like digital ID verification and facial recognition to verify age.
