March 11, 2026 | 08:12 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia is readying incentives for local governments succeeding in implementing social media restrictions for children under 16 years old, according to Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian.
"The Ministry of Home Affairs is preparing the budget, and we are also looking at regional incentives," Tito said after a briefing at the office of the Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi) in Jakarta on Wednesday, March 11, 2026.
Besides the proposed incentives, the Indonesian government will also prepare certificates for successful regions. "The technical details will be discussed with Ibu Minister of Communication and Digital," he said.
"For example, awarding the top 10 regions," the minister said, adding that the awards are hoped to incentivize competition between the regions to implement social media restrictions more effectively.
In a closed-door briefing between ministries and agencies, Tito suggested that the regions be ranked under some kinds of child protection index. "This will push the regions to compete so they won't be at the bottom [of the index]. If they were, their electability would slip away," Tito said.
Komdigi Minister Meutya Hafid said the meeting agreed to implement Government Regulation Number 17 of 2025, which was signed by President Prabowo Subianto on March 28, 2025. "Meaning, there are 17 days left," she said, while acknowledging challenges in implementing the social media restriction.
According to Minister Meutya, there are 70 million children who are active social media users in the country, as compared to, for example, Australia with 5.7 million children.
When asked if the platforms are ready for these regulations, Meutya did not provide an answer. After the meeting and the subsequent press conference that waived questions from the media, the ministers swiftly left the room.
The closed-door briefing was attended by Minister of Komdigi Meutya Hafid, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Abdul Mu'ti, Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian, Minister of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Arifah Fauziah, Minister of Religious Affairs Nasaruddin Umar, Minister of Population and Family Development Wihaji, and Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya.
Read: Amnesty Criticizes Indonesia's Social Media Ban for Under 16
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