As Indonesia's social media restriction measures officially come into effect, social media platforms TikTok and YouTube have disabled about 4.7 million accounts belonging to children under the age of 16 in the country.
Indonesia's Minister of Communication and Digital, Metyia, recently stated that TikTok, developed by Chinese tech company ByteDance, has deactivated 4.1 million accounts, while YouTube, Google's video platform under Alphabet, has disabled 600,000 accounts.
She pointed out that the Ministry of Communication hopes other social media platforms will take similar measures to strengthen the protection of underage users.
So far, TikTok and YouTube have not yet responded to this matter.
According to reports, the Indonesian government issued new regulations in March this year, requiring social media platforms designated as high-risk by the government to deactivate accounts belonging to children under 16.
Currently, in addition to TikTok and YouTube, the affected platforms also include X, Instagram under Meta, as well as gaming platform Roblox.
Metyia stated that the government not only hopes to delay children's exposure to social media but also wants relevant platforms to adjust their operation models to build a safer online environment.
She revealed that Indonesia's Ministry of Education is currently reviewing self-assessment reports submitted by each platform company to monitor the implementation of relevant measures.
The Indonesian government said that these restrictions aim to reduce the risks of cyberbullying and internet addiction, and to protect the physical and mental health of minors.
In fact, Australia already took the lead last year by launching related restrictions due to concerns about social media's harm to the mental health of teenagers. This policy is currently attracting widespread international attention, with many countries considering following suit to address the issues of minors' online safety and mental health.
In addition, the UK also announced this month its plan to expand the scope of regulation to include gaming and livestreaming platforms under the restriction measures.