Indonesia demands Meta speed up removal of underage social media accounts
Communication Minister Meutya Hafid calls on Meta to accelerate deactivation of accounts for users under 16 across Facebook, Instagram and Threads, as enforcement of PP TUNAS child protection regulations continues with December deadline approaching.
Indonesia demands Meta speed up removal of underage social media accounts
Indonesian Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid has demanded that Meta significantly accelerate the removal of underage accounts from its social media platforms, citing the tech giant's obligation to comply with the country's child protection regulations.
Speaking on Friday following a meeting with Meta executives in New York, Hafid said the company must develop a concrete timeline for restricting and deactivating accounts belonging to users under 16 on Facebook, Instagram and Threads. The directive comes as Indonesia enforces Government Regulation No. 17 of 2025, known as PP TUNAS, which establishes strict requirements for protecting children in digital environments.
Regulatory framework and timeline
The regulation, enacted on March 27, 2025, took legal effect on April 1, 2025, with enforcement of under-16 account deactivation on high-risk platforms beginning on March 28, 2026. Under PP TUNAS, children are defined as individuals under 18, and platforms must obtain parental consent for users under 17 within a 24-hour window before granting access.
Meta's compliance lags behind competitors
Meta's compliance efforts have lagged behind other major platforms operating in Indonesia. According to company data, Meta deactivated 184,000 accounts of users under 13 between March and May 2026—85,000 on Instagram and 99,000 on Facebook. By comparison, TikTok had removed 4.1 million child accounts as of June 2026, while YouTube had deactivated 600,000 child accounts by May 2026.
The scale of Meta's operations in Indonesia underscores the urgency of compliance. As of mid-2026, Facebook had over 211 million users in the country—representing 73.8 percent of the population—while Instagram counted 123 million users, or 43.1 percent of Indonesians.
At the March enforcement deadline, Meta's platforms were among those failing to meet PP TUNAS requirements. Only two platforms—X and Bigo Live—had achieved full compliance when the regulation took effect, while Facebook, Instagram and Threads remained non-compliant.
Government demands stronger action
Hafid met with Meta Vice President and Global Head of Public Policy Kevin J. Martin and Global Head of Safety Antigone Davis in New York on Wednesday to address the compliance gap. She emphasized that Meta's massive presence in Indonesia carries proportionally greater responsibility.
Given Meta's massive scale and influence in Indonesia, there comes a much greater responsibility. We demand stricter age controls, safer product designs, consistent enforcement, and measurable periodic reporting to the government to ensure real protection for children.
The government has established a two-year adjustment period until March 27, 2027, during which the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs will refrain from imposing administrative penalties for non-compliance. However, platforms categorized as high-risk for children face a December 31, 2026 deadline to complete required self-assessments of potential risks their services pose to minors.
International context
Indonesia joins Australia as one of only two countries to enact regulations specifically addressing child protection in social media use. Australia passed the world's first social media ban for users under 16 in late 2024, which took effect in December 2025, with platforms facing fines up to 50 million Australian dollars for non-compliance.
As of June 2026, approximately 200 digital platforms operating in Indonesia had submitted self-assessment reports regarding their child safety risk profiles under PP TUNAS, spanning social media, e-commerce, gaming and streaming services.
Broader content moderation demands
Beyond child safety measures, Hafid stressed that technology companies must respond swiftly to content violating Indonesian law, including illegal online gambling, pornography, hate speech and disinformation.
Platforms must take decisive action against content that violates the law or triggers public unrest. Meta must be more proactive in reviewing and flagging problematic content, rather than solely relying on the government to terminate access.
The minister warned that all global digital platforms operating in Southeast Asia's largest economy must comply with Indonesian regulations. The government stands ready to impose strict administrative sanctions, including termination of access, on platforms that fail to meet legal requirements.