Ammon News - Indonesia on Saturday introduced a social media ban for children under the age of 16, following Australia's lead in protecting young people from potential online harms.

The measure takes effect as US tech giants face mounting scrutiny over youth safety and comes in the same week that Facebook owner Meta and YouTube were ordered to pay millions of dollars in a US lawsuit for designing addictive products that caused harm to young people.

The government first announced the ban earlier this month, saying it was taking action to prevent young people from online pornography, scams, cyberbullying and internet addiction.

In a first for Southeast Asia, children will be blocked from having accounts on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox, which the country has labeled as high risk.

The regulation applies to around 70 million under-16s, the government said, who make up 25% of Indonesia's 280 million population.

Enforcement and account deactivation are expected to happen gradually.

Communications minister Meutya Hafid told a news conference on Friday that X and Bigo Live have fully complied and called on other digital platforms to "immediately align their products, features and services" to the new minimum age rules.

Hafid said there was "no room for compromise regarding compliance."

The government plans to levy fines on platforms that don't comply and has not ruled out a nationwide ban.

Several platforms released statements saying they would adhere to the new measure.

DW