TikTok Deactivates 780,000 Accounts of Under-16 in Indonesia

JAKARTA, April 14 (Bernama) -- Social media app TikTok has deactivated 780,000 accounts belonging to users under the age of 16 in Indonesia in compliance with the government’s child protection regulation, PP Tunas, for the digital space.

Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said TikTok was the first digital platform to report enforcement actions under the new regulation, which governs electronic system operations for child protection.

“This is an initial victory for the public, parents and children in Indonesia, and once again we appreciate TikTok for reporting early on the number of accounts that have been successfully taken down,” she said, according to ANTARA News Agency, on Tuesday.

Indonesia has officially banned social media use for children under the age of 16 as it began implementing PP Tunas on March 28, a policy that mandates the phased deactivation of accounts belonging to underage users on high-risk platforms.

Expressing her appreciation, Meutya said TikTok had demonstrated its commitment by submitting a formal letter of compliance to the government and implementing measures outlined in the regulation and its derivative rules.

She said TikTok had also updated its platform policy to set a minimum user age of 16, with further adjustments to be rolled out gradually.

She also encouraged other digital platforms to follow TikTok’s lead in reporting the number of accounts belonging to children under 16 that have been deactivated.

To date, six out of eight platforms in the initial phase of PP Tunas implementation have declared compliance, namely X, Bigo Live, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and TikTok. 

Meanwhile, Roblox and YouTube are still categorised as platforms that have not fully complied with the provisions of PP Tunas.

To date, six out of eight platforms in the initial phase of PP Tunas implementation have declared compliance, namely X, Bigo Live, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and TikTok.

-- BERNAMA