TikTok removes 780,000 underage Indonesia accounts

Indonesia’s communications ministry said TikTok had disabled about 780,000 accounts held by users under 16 in the country, as part of compliance with child protection rules under Government Regulation No. 17/2025.

TikTok was the first platform to report action under the rule, as the company had also submitted a letter of commitment to comply, and listed a minimum age of 16 in its Help Center.

Roblox had made global settings changes, but it still did not meet the Indonesian rule because users could still chat with strangers.

The ministry urged other platforms to disclose how many child accounts they had handled or taken down.

🔗 Source: Komdigi

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Why Roblox and YouTube failed Indonesia’s child safety test

Google’s YouTube was the other large service Indonesian regulators found non-compliant, so it received a formal warning known locally as a teguran 1.
Regulators focused on confusing wording rather than missing rules. They rejected vague lines such as the age limit being “maybe 16 years old” and asked for clear, full compliance 2.
For Roblox, officials accepted that it made “major changes,” including new global account types like “Roblox Kids.” They still rejected the gaming platform’s compliance proposal 3.
Officials zeroed in on a feature loophole that still let child users chat with strangers. Indonesian parents raised this risk as a main reason for the crackdown 4.

Indonesia’s rules signal the end of one-size-fits-all tech policies

Indonesia wants platforms to enforce safety measures, not only update policies. Regulators value account removals and feature changes more than terms-of-service edits 4.
Roblox’s rejection suggests one global set of safety tools may no longer satisfy large overseas markets 3.
The decision sets a precedent that platforms may need country-specific versions or shut off core functions to meet local laws 5.
Sanctions can escalate from temporary access suspension to complete access termination 6. Companies must weigh custom engineering costs against the risk of being blocked from a market with about 70 million children under 16 6.