JAKARTA, May 6 — Indonesia’s government is mulling an e-commerce ban for under-16s, the communications minister told AFP today, hot on the heels of Jakarta imposing a sweeping social media prohibition for teens.

“E-commerce (platforms) are next, because we found children who became scam victims through e-commerce,” Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid said in an interview in Jakarta, without providing further details.

In March, app-addicted Indonesia started enforcing a social media ban for under-16s in a bid to shield some 70 million children from the threats of online pornography, cyberbullying and internet addiction.

The policy followed Australia’s landmark move in December to stop teenagers holding accounts on many popular platforms.

The Indonesian regulation initially targeted eight “high risk” platforms: YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, streaming service Bigo Live and gaming platform Roblox.

But it will eventually apply to “all digital platforms”, Meutya said today, including online shopping sites.

The South-east Asian archipelago of more than 284 million people boasts among the highest concentration of social media users in the world.

Meutya said the government’s aim was 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,” Meutya told AFP.

Indonesia’s Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid answers questions during an interview with AFP at her official residence in Jakarta May 6, 2026. — AFP pic

Global reckoning 

Roblox became the latest platform to comply with the new regulations, introducing age verification technology and restricting content based on users’ age, the government said last week.

More than half of Roblox’s 45 million Indonesian users are children under 16, the government said.

Social media giants are facing a global reckoning as governments increasingly worry about their impact on users’ wellbeing.

The Turkish parliament last month approved a law to prevent children under 15 accessing social media platforms.

Some European countries, including Norway, Greece, France, Spain and Denmark, have said they will introduce similar restrictions.

Like in Australia, the Indonesian rules place the onus on platforms to regulate teen access.

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 the country. — AFP

Jimmy Wales remembers a toxic internet even before social media and says AI is ‘not a disaster’ for the free – and freely edited - online encyclopaedia

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Wikipedia’s founder, Jimmy Wales, has branded the Australian social media ban an “unmitigated disaster” and an “embarrassment” that is teaching kids to accept surveillance from tech companies when they go online.

The online encyclopaedia that anyone can edit was born in a world before social media, in 2001. But Wales told Guardian Australia that many of the ills of social media existed even in the earlier stages of the internet.

MPs rejected a Conservative party proposal for the prime minister to face a parliamentary inquiry into his appointment of Peter Mandelson

Q: Was there pressure on you to approve Mandelson’s vetting?

This is a reference to the claim that Keir Starmer misled MPs last week when he talked about no pressure being placed on the Foreign Office.

One is during my tenure. I was not aware of any pressure on the substance of the Mandelson DV case.

Question two was there pressure? Absolutely. And I’ve described it. And I also have seen what the Foreign Office said to you last night. [See 8.50am.]

I didn’t receive any direct calls from the chief of staff during my time as permanent undersecretary. So there was no call at all. My interactions were always when others were present in a general meeting, there weren’t very many of those either …

I’ve really racked my brains and I cannot recall Morgan McSweeney swearing in a meeting at me, or indeed just in general. So I don’t see any substance in that part of it and I think it’s important I say that this morning, given how many people have come to think that might be true.

Peers and campaigners say proposal for three-year window to impose controls breaks promise of quick action

Peers will vote on Monday on a government move that could delay action on children’s access to social media for up to three years, which has triggered a backlash from campaigners and senior figures in the Lords.

Ministers tabled an amendment to the children’s wellbeing and schools bill that would allow them to wait before introducing new restrictions, Critics warn it risks watering down earlier commitments to act within months and could result in only limited interventions such as parental controls rather than sweeping measures on access.

PM summons senior figures from Meta, TikTok, Google and X and says social media is ‘putting our children at risk’

Keir Starmer has told social media bosses “things can’t go on like this” in a Downing Street meeting over internet safety.

The prime minister summoned senior figures at Meta, TikTok, Google and X to No 10 on Thursday morning as his government considers imposing new restrictions on platforms, including an Australia-style ban for under-16s. Meta owns Facebook and Instagram, and Google owns YouTube.

The prime minister was not aware that the former US ambassador had failed the vetting process, according to Downing Street

Swinney says this is a manifesto for the whole of Scotland.

He confirms that the SNP would argue for the Scottish power to have more control over energy policy (still largely reserved to Westminter). He says:

The problem is not that we do not have the energy. The problem is that Westminster has the power. This election is our opportunity to take those powers and put them into Scotland’s hands.