Indonesian gov’t summons Meta, Google over child social media rules

Indonesia has summoned Meta and Google officials over what the government says is noncompliance with new rules requiring “high-risk” social media platforms to deactivate accounts belonging to children under 16, Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid said.

The regulation took full effect last week, and the ministry has said platforms that fail to enforce it could face sanctions or be blocked.

Hafid said Meta and Google were called in for checks, and added that TikTok and Roblox have been warned to comply or risk being summoned.

Indonesia says the curbs target risks such as talking to strangers, addictive features, and psychological harm, after Australia introduced a similar ban last year.

🔗 Source: Reuters

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Implications, context, and why it matters.

Indonesia’s regulatory pressure follows stern warnings and a surprise office inspection

Indonesia’s communications ministry carried out an unannounced inspection of Meta Platforms’ Jakarta office, driven by concerns about how the company handles harmful content on its services 1.
After the visit, the ministry issued a “stern warning” about Meta’s low compliance with national regulations and raised the prospect of tougher enforcement 2.
Indonesia’s move aligns with a wider push to curb teen access to social media, including Australia’s under-16 restriction introduced last year 3.
In Australia, that rule led companies to remove access for about 4.7 million accounts flagged as belonging to children 1.

Platform design is now being targeted by both global regulators and US courts

Indonesia’s concern about addiction and psychological harm overlaps with recent U.S. jury verdicts that held Meta Platforms and Alphabet’s YouTube (the video platform owned by Google-parent Alphabet) responsible for harms linked to allegedly addictive product design 4.
In one landmark case, a jury said features like infinite scroll and autoplay were negligently designed and contributed substantially to a user’s mental health decline 4.
These decisions challenge the engagement features that support advertising revenue across major social platforms 5.
Tech firms now face pressure in several markets where regulators seek to bar under-16s from “high-risk” platforms, while U.S. courts penalize design choices accused of fostering addiction 3.