Indonesia Plans E-Commerce Ban for Under-16s to Curb Online Scams Risk

Indonesia is planning an e-commerce ban for under-16s after finding children became scam victims through online shopping platforms. The Silicon Review reports on Jakarta's move to extend its sweeping social media ban to digital marketplaces.

Indonesia is planning to prohibit children under 16 from accessing e-commerce platforms, Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid announced Wednesday, extending the government's aggressive push to shield young people from online harms.

"E-commerce platforms are next, because we found children who became scam victims through e-commerce," Hafid told AFP in an interview, without providing further details on the proposed ban's timeline or implementation.

The announcement follows Indonesia's landmark social media ban for under-16s, which took effect in March 2026 to protect some 70 million children from online pornography, cyberbullying, and internet addiction. That regulation initially targeted eight "high risk" platforms YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live, and Roblox but will eventually apply to "all digital platforms," including online shopping sites.

Hafid said the government's aim is to help parents take on the "big platforms" to protect their children. "Letting them face off against the platforms alone, without rules, is like letting parents play chess against a grandmaster. They won't win, or it will be very hard to win," she told AFP.

The under-16s social media ban has already driven compliance from major platforms. Gaming platform Roblox recently introduced age verification technology and began restricting content based on users' age, with the government noting that more than half of Roblox's 45 million Indonesian users are children under 16.

Non-compliance with the ban, which will be phased in over time, will put defaulters at risk of a fine or even suspension of their services in Indonesia.

The move comes amid a global reckoning over children's online safety, with Turkey approving a law to prevent children under 15 from accessing social media, and several European countries, including Norway, Greece, France, Spain, and Denmark, announcing similar restrictions. Earlier in March, a US jury found Meta and Alphabet liable for negligently designing addictive social media platforms that caused harm to young users.

Singapore has also taken significant steps, requiring app stores including Apple and Google to implement age assurance measures from April 1, 2026, to prevent users under 18 from downloading age-inappropriate apps, with verification methods including Singpass, facial scans, and credit card checks.

As Indonesia moves to ban under-16s from e-commerce platforms following its sweeping social media prohibition, The Silicon Review examines how the global push to protect children online is accelerating across Asia and why Jakarta's chess grandmaster analogy may reshape the relationship between regulators and Big Tech.