Analysis of the Implementation of Government Regulation Number…

Analysis of the Implementation of Government Regulation Number 17 of 2025 Concerning Children in the Digital World

By Arif Kurniawan

01 Apr 2026 09:05 WIB 01 April 2026 09:05 WIB 5 minutes reading time: 5 minutes 2 read

"Parents are obliged to supervise their children playing with smartphones." This cliché is actually a harsh slap in the face for those of us who often neglect the data security of underage children.

Menelisik perlindungan data anak di dunia maya: sejauh mana implementasi PP 17/2025? (Source: AI Gemini, Redaksi Literasi Hukum Indonesia)

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Legal Literacy - Indonesia is one of the countries with the highest intensity of digital activity in the world. However, behind this hustle and bustle lies a worrying fact: our children spend an average of 7 to 8 hours each day justscrolling on various platforms. Responding to this urgency, the government has officially established Government Regulation (Government Regulation) Number 17 of 2025 concerning Governance of Electronic System Administration in Child Protection, or what is now known as PP Tunas.

This legal step is not merely a matter of bureaucracy, but a massive effort by the state to protect the future of approximately 70 million Indonesian children under the age of 16. The presence of this regulation also serves as a test for Indonesia's digital sovereignty in the face of large technology companies (Big Tech).

The initial implementation of PP Tunas immediately mapped the compliance of digital giants. Based on monitoring by the Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi), two large business entities, namely Meta (Facebook, Instagram, Threads) and Google (YouTube) are openly considered to be non-compliant with applicable laws, specifically Regulation Number 9 of 2026 as a derivative rule of the Tunas Government Regulation.

This non-compliance poses a serious challenge to Indonesia's legal sovereignty. The government has sent an official summons as part of administrative sanctions. On the other hand, platforms such as TikTok and Roblox are in the "yellow" category—they are cooperative but have not fully complied with the rules, so they have been given a warning letter. This firm stance from the government sends a strong message that Indonesia is not just a digital market that can be exploited, but a legal territory that must be respected.

"We need to convey that the government is not too surprised that there are attempts to default from one or two companies trying to avoid their obligations. Especially since from the beginning of the discussion of the Government Regulation on Child Protection, the two platforms have been quite resistant."

One of the fundamental breakthroughs in this regulation is the shift in the user age threshold. Indonesia now sets a minimum standard of 16 years for independent social media use, abandoning the old international standard of 13 years. Platforms like X and Bigo Live have shown their commitment by starting to adjust their user age policies.

This step is a manifestation of the philosophy "Waiting for Children to be Ready." The shift to the age of 16 is based on the need for mental maturity in managing exposure to algorithms. As a policy expert, I see this as an effort to restore children's childhood from the clutches of digital addiction. Article 20 of this Government Regulation details the classification of children's age ranges to ensure targeted protection: