Meta Urges Komdigi To Open About Regulations On The Age Restrictions On Social Media

JAKARTA - Global Meta companies have expressed their support for regulations related to limiting children's age in the use of social media, which is being designed by the Ministry of Communication and Digital.

However, when meeting with Menkomdigi Meutya Hafid, Vice President of Public Policy for Asia-Pacific at Meta Simon Milner, argued that limiting children's age in accessing social media was not the right thing.

"Meta supports regulations related to the safety of teenagers in the online world, but limiting access to technology for millions of teenagers in Indonesia is not the right solution," Simon said in an official statement received on Wednesday, March 12.

At the same time, Meta also encourages the government, especially the Ministry of Communication and Industry, to distribute the draft regulation on the age limit for the use of social media to relevant stakeholders.

In addition, Meta also requested that Komdigi hold public consultations in a transparent manner so that parents, civil society organizations, and industry players can provide input.

"We appreciate the meeting with the Minister of Trade yesterday, but we regret that until now the government has not published the draft regulation openly," he said.

Meanwhile, Meta also believes that this online security regulation must include a comprehensive digital ecosystem approach.

"We believe that age verification in app stores and operating systems is the best way to support older people and is a more effective solution to keep young users safe in the digital world," he said.

According to him, Meta already has a commitment to maintain the safety of young users, without any regulations from the government. Because, they claim to have special security features for this, such as the Teen Accounts feature on Instagram for Indonesian users.

This account is equipped with built-in protection that automatically limits who can connect with teens and the type of content they see. Teenagers under 16 require parental permission to change the settings.