TikTok, YouTube deactivate 4.7m child accounts in Indonesia as social media curbs take effect

JAKARTA, June 26 — Social media companies TikTok and YouTube have deactivated a total ‌of around 4.7 million accounts belonging to children under the age of 16 in Indonesia, the country’s communications minister said, ‌as its social media curbs began to take effect.

Here are the details:

•    TikTok, developed by Chinese technology company ByteDance, has deactivated 4.1 million accounts, while Alphabet’s Google’s video platform YouTube has deactivated 600,000 accounts, Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid said late yesterday, adding that the ministry wanted others to follow.

•    Neither company responded immediately to a request for comment.

•    In March, Indonesia ‌issued a regulation which requires social media companies ⁠with platforms it deems high ⁠risk to deactivate accounts belonging to ⁠children under 16, which ⁠have so far ⁠included X, Meta’s Instagram and videogame platform Roblox.

•    “We’re not just delaying a child’s access, but we want behaviours from ⁠platforms to change, too,” Meutya said yesterday adding that the ministry is currently checking self-assessment reports by the companies.

•    Indonesia’s curbs, which the government says are intended to reduce the risk of cyberbullying and ⁠addiction, follow a ban in Australia last year over concerns about the potential harm social media posesto the ⁠mental health of young people.

•    Australia’s groundbreaking experiment is ⁠being closely watched, ⁠with countries around the world seeking to emulate it amid concerns about the mental and physical health of minors.

* ‌Britain announced this month that it planned wider restrictions that include gaming and live-streaming platforms. — Reuters