Indonesia Plans to Extend Under-16 Digital Platform Ban to E-commerce

Indonesia is preparing to extend its under-16 ban on social media to e-commerce platforms. Officials said the step follows reports that young people had become victims of online scams and engaged in unsupervised digital spending through those services.

The country implemented a ban on social media access for users under 16 that took effect on March 28. Officials stated that the restrictions on all digital platforms are intended to support parents in protecting children from risks they cannot manage alone.

Communications and digital affairs officials told Agence France-Presse on May 6 that the expansion to e-commerce was necessary because children had been identified as scam victims on those platforms. One official compared the situation to parents attempting to compete against a grandmaster in chess without rules in place.

The existing social media rules require companies to put in place age verification mechanisms. Failure to comply can result in fines or blocking of services in the country.

Extending the rules to e-commerce would require platforms to develop age-verification systems that are accurate and practical while protecting users' personal data. Officials indicated the systems should avoid creating excessive friction for legitimate users.

The approach builds on Indonesia's existing measures aimed at limiting children's exposure to risky digital environments. Enforcement of the social media portion of the ban has already begun. >"Letting them face off against [the platforms] alone, without rules, is like letting parents play chess against a grandmaster.