A Muslim country has decided to impose a ban on the use of social media for children under a certain age.
After Australia’s recent legislation to ban children under 16 from using social media, which will be enforced later this year, Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country by population, has decided to follow suit.
According to a Bloomberg report, Indonesia is planning to set an age limit for social media use to protect children from harmful online content. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto informed ministers that laws to ensure online child protection would be drafted within one to two months.
Indonesia’s Minister for Digital Affairs, Meutya Hafid, stated that these laws are likely to include age restrictions for social media use. Authorities are also expected to intensify monitoring of online activities. However, the specific minimum age for social media use has not yet been clarified.
A while ago, Meutya Hafid mentioned that she had discussed this project with the Indonesian President, and the President had instructed the plan to proceed.
Indonesia’s 79.5% of the population uses the internet, and 48% of children under 12 use various social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Additionally, 87% of individuals aged 12 to 27 use the internet.
Apart from Indonesia, Singapore is also considering similar legislation, which would prevent children under 12 from downloading social media apps or accessing them.
