(Updates with Google's response in the fifth paragraph.)
Indonesia is planning to ban high-risk digital platforms for children under the age of 16 years, starting gradually from March 28, the country's Minister of Communication and Digital Meutya Hafid said.
The proposal states that children under 16 cannot create an account on Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) YouTube, TikTok, Meta Platforms' (META) Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live, and Roblox (RBLX), the Associated Press reported.
"This regulation does not impose sanctions on children or parents. Sanctions are imposed on digital platforms that fail to fulfill their child protection obligations," Hafid said.
"Governments considering bans should be careful not to push teens toward less safe, unregulated sites, or logged out experiences that bypass important protections - like the default safeguards we offer in Instagram and Facebook Teen Accounts," a Meta spokesperson told MT Newswires in an email Friday.
"We are reviewing the new regulation to ensure it supports this goal, empowers parents, and preserves access to learning for millions of Indonesians," a YouTube spokesperson told MT Newswires in an email Monday. "We will continue to engage constructively with the government and remain committed to protecting youth in the digital world, not from it."
Roblox did not respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.
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