🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Indonesia’s child safety law covers more than age checks

• Government Regulation No. 17/2025 on child protection in electronic systems (PP Tunas) sets five child age brackets, starting at ages 3 to 5 1.
• For a 9-year-old account, a platform must collect parental or responsible-account consent, set high-privacy defaults, and avoid “dark patterns” (deceptive design tactics that trick users into choices they might not otherwise make) 1.
• The rules apply to more than TikTok, Bigo Live, and X. They cover all electronic system operators (ESOs), including online games like Roblox and e-commerce sites 2.
• Rollout will vary because the government allows a two-year transition period until March 2027. Administrative penalties start after that, so X and others have time to adjust 1.

Indonesia’s law fits a worldwide move toward platform responsibility

• Indonesia joins a wider push on child safety. Australia’s ban on social media for children under 16 took effect in December 2025 3.
• Policymakers now push platforms to fix design-level concerns, including limits on default user profiling plus privacy from the start 2.
• Global tech firms face tougher product work. Local rules keep diverging, which weakens a single global setup 1.
• Enforcement may decide the outcome. Without a strong, independent body like Australia’s eSafety Commissioner (the country’s online safety regulator), Indonesia’s law could end up as a “paper tiger” 4.