Indonesia Announces Ban on Social Media and Online Platforms for Children Under 16

Indonesia announced it will ban social media and other online platforms for users under the age of 16, joining a growing international movement to restrict young people's access to digital spaces in an effort to protect them from exploitation, addiction, and abuse. The ban makes Indonesia the latest country to conclude that the tech industry's self-regulation has failed to adequately protect children online, a conclusion the U.S. Senate reached this week when it passed the COPPA 2.0 expansion of data protections for minors. The global trend toward restricting children's social media access reflects a hardening consensus among lawmakers worldwide that the harms of unrestricted youth access to platforms designed to maximize engagement are too severe and too well-documented to leave to voluntary industry action.