ISTANBUL

Indonesia on Saturday officially began enforcing curbs on social media accounts for children under 16, becoming the first country in Southeast Asia to adopt nationwide restrictions, the daily Jakarta Globe reported.

In a news briefing in Jakarta late Friday night, Communications Minister Meutya Hafid said that US social media platform X has "fully complied" with the rules.

“X has announced that it would enforce a minimum user age of 16 in Indonesia. They have published this on their help center,” Meutya told reporters.

The age requirement is “not our choice — it’s what Indonesian law requires,” X said on its help center page.

X had 25.2 million users in Indonesia as of early 2025.

Meutya warned the government has the authority to take enforcement measures in line with domestic regulations, that includes imposing sanctions.

According to the government figures, 48% of Indonesian internet users are minors under 18. Over 80% of Indonesian children spend seven hours online daily. Some 35.57% of younger kids can access the internet.

With the move, Indonesia becomes the second country to restrict children’s access to social media after Australia, which passed a similar law last December that was considered the world’s first.