Indonesian Ministry Establishes Child Protection Team Unit in Digital Realm, Operates Starting Tomorrow

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Digital (Kemkomdigi) has formed a Team Unit to Strengthen Regulations in the Digital Realm. Minister of Communication and Digital Meutya Hafid stated that the formation of the team was in order to form regulations to strengthen child protection in the digital space.

"In accordance with the direction and spirit of President Prabowo Subianto to strengthen child protection in the digital space that was conveyed to us some time ago, we are following up by forming a working team to regulate child protection on the internet," he said in a press conference in front of the Ministry of Basic Education (Kemendikdasmen) building, Central Jakarta on Sunday, February 2, 2025.

The determination of the formation of the team is stated in a statement letter (SK) that has been signed by several representatives from various ministries, including the Ministry of Communication and Digital (Kemkomdigi), the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen), the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes), and the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (Kemen PPPA).

He said the team would start operating tomorrow, Monday, February 3, 2025. One of the aspects being studied in this regulation is the specific age restrictions for children in using social media.

"As a step to reduce exposure to harmful content, among (the studies) is the possibility of including restrictions on social media access for certain ages," he said.

According to him, the formation of the working team was in response to Indonesia's position recorded in the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), as the fourth country in the world and second in ASEAN with the largest distribution of child pornography content. Over the past four years, he said, child pornography cases in Indonesia have reached 5,566,015 cases.

"This does not mention online gambling which also targets children, bullying, sexual violence against children, and other negative aspects," he continued.

Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (2021), it was noted that 89 percent of children aged five and over use the internet only for social media, which increases their risk of being exposed to harmful content. Cases of online gambling, pornography, bullying, and sexual violence continue to dominate complaints received by the Ministry of Communication and Digital.

He stated that the Team for Strengthening Regulations in the Digital Realm consists of representatives of the government, academics, practitioners, and representatives of children's Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). Later, he said, the regulations made will not only aim to tighten supervision and improve digital literacy for children and parents, but also to ensure stricter law enforcement against perpetrators and distributors of dangerous content.

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