
Indonesia has banned children under 16 from using high-risk social media platforms, but enforcement is ineffective as minors continue to access services like Instagram and TikTok by lying about their age, highlighting the limitations of regulatory bans without stronger age verification.
AI-generated summary
Indonesia implemented strict rules in March 2026 banning children under 16 from using high-risk social media platforms as part of regional efforts to improve children's online safety.
From Indonesia to Vietnam, governments are making platforms answerable for children’s safety – but bans can only do so much
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Published: 8:00am, 10 Oct 2026Updated: 8:23am, 10 Oct 2026
Indonesia officially barred under-16s from using “high-risk” social media earlier this year. But that hasn’t stopped the son of one Jakarta-based writer from using it.
Aged 14, he already had accounts on Instagram and TikTok – among the platforms Jakarta said children would be banned from using – as well as popular video game Minecraft and gaming platform Roblox. To register, he simply lied about his age.
“He can access everything,” Inne Abidin said of her son. “His friends use everything too.”
Since March, Indonesia has had some of Southeast Asia’s strictest rules governing children’s social media use.
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Indonesia will introduce stricter age verification requirements for social media platforms
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Indonesia has banned children under 16 from using high-risk social media platforms, but enforcement is undermined as minors easily bypass restrictions by lying about their age, as illustrated by a Jakarta teenager accessing Instagram, TikTok, Minecraft, and Roblox despite the ban.