Indonesia Says Meta Has Not Reported Underage Threads Enforcement
Has not reported enforcement against underage users on Threads under the country’s child-safety rules. The ministry says Meta reported blocking around 85,000…
Indonesia flags meta’s gaps in child safety compliance as the government presses Meta over Threads, which has not reported enforcement action against underage users more than six months after the country’s PP TUNAS regulation took effect. Communications and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said the ministry had received no report from Meta on action against underage accounts on the platform.
The omission sets Threads apart from Facebook and Instagram, for which Meta has reported blocking underage accounts. Indonesia says the gap leaves the government without evidence of how Threads is applying the child-protection rules.
“Regarding the deactivation of children’s accounts on Threads, there have been no reports on enforcement actions taken against [underage] accounts, nor have any reports been submitted to the ministry,” Meutya told reporters on Wednesday.
Threads singled out under PP TUNAS
Meutya said Meta had reported that around 85,000 underage Instagram accounts and 99,000 Facebook accounts had been blocked so far. The ministry’s figures sit alongside an earlier government estimate that around 33 million accounts belonging to users under 16 existed across Meta’s three platforms.
Meta has also outlined plans to move around 22.5 million underage Facebook and Instagram accounts into its “teen account” mode. Indonesia still considers the feature high-risk, however, because it allows communication with other people, including strangers.
“We found that teen accounts still feature communication with other people, including strangers, which means we cannot categorize the platform as low-risk,” Meutya said.
That classification has direct consequences for young users and their families. Under PP TUNAS, high-risk platforms must restrict access for users under 16 and require parental authorization. Medium-risk services may be used by those aged 13 to 15 with verified parental consent.
The regulation requires platforms to assess seven areas of risk: contact, content, addiction, safety, consumer protection, physiological well-being and mental health. Indonesia introduced the rules earlier this year amid concerns about children’s exposure to harmful content, pornography, cyberbullying, exploitation and online addiction.
Government urges dialogue before deadline
Indonesia’s high-risk list includes Facebook, Instagram and Threads, alongside X, Roblox, TikTok, YouTube and Bigo Live. The government says Roblox has moved 23 million users to its children’s version, which limits features, particularly chat. In September, officials praised the platform’s compliance as “strict.”
TikTok had blocked some 9 million underage accounts as of October, according to the source report. X’s latest report listed around 250,000 accounts belonging to users under 16, well below the government’s estimate of 7 million.
Meutya said Indonesia remained open to talks with social media companies, but platforms had around five months left to meet the requirements. She met Meta vice president and head of global public policy Kevin J. Martin on the sidelines of last month’s 81st United Nations General Assembly.
“I urge these platforms to make the best use of the available avenues for dialogue, so that the government does not simply impose strict regulations without room for discussion,” Meutya said. She also warned companies not to wait until March 2027 to achieve full compliance.
“Spaces for dialogue exist, so please utilize it. Do not wait until March 2027 to achieve full compliance,” she said.
For families, the distinction is practical: Indonesia’s rules tie a service’s risk rating to access limits and parental authorization, while the ministry says Meta’s teen-account setting still permits contact with strangers. The government finalized its draft penalty policy last month for platforms that fail to meet the Dec. 31 deadline.
Source: asianews.network
