Komdigi Urges Digital Platforms to Implement Behavior-Based Age Detection

JAKARTA - Deputy Minister of Communication and Digital, Nezar Patria, urged digital platforms operating in Indonesia to start implementing behavioral-based age detection technology or age inferential.

This technology is expected to complement the verification of user age using birth date declarations, which are claimed to still have loopholes for children to manipulate their age when registering on digital platforms.

"Platforms are generally driven by machines without deep verification. When a child fakes his age, the system assumes they are 18 years old, adult content, even sexual content, is freely exposed to them," Nezar said in his statement, quoted Wednesday, February 4.

With age inferential technology, Nezar believes the algorithm of the digital platform is able to read the tendency of each user's behavior.

"Even though users do not state their actual age, the system can profile based on the content consumed. If a child's consumption pattern is detected, but is in an adult account, the system automatically blocks access to harmful content," he added.

He added that several major global platforms, such as YouTube, are currently testing this feature in a number of regions to test its reliability.

Wamen Nezar hopes that this safety by design approach is not merely a fulfillment of regulations, but rather a corporate culture to create a safe digital space.