Indonesia reprimands Google over YouTube failure to meet child-safety rules

Indonesia has moved from rulemaking to enforcement, sending Google a letter of reprimand after a compliance review found YouTube had not met the country’s new child-safety requirements for users under 16. Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid said the platform had not fulfilled the law’s obligations or laid out how it would comply, making the warning the first formal sanction under the new regime.

The action rests on Government Regulation No. 17 of 2025, known as PP Tunas, which was signed and took effect on March 27, 2025, and on Ministerial Regulation No. 9 of 2026, issued on March 6, 2026. Full implementation began on March 28, 2026. Under the rules, Indonesia requires platforms deemed high risk to prevent children younger than 16 from maintaining accounts, a policy aimed at reducing cyberbullying and addiction. The rollout initially covered YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox.

The Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs said the April 7 review found YouTube had not met its obligations and had not shown a clear near-term commitment to comply. By April 9, the ministry said Meta, X and Bigo Live had fully complied, while Google and YouTube had not. Indonesian officials had already summoned Meta and Google on March 31 over compliance concerns, showing how quickly the government shifted from issuing rules to checking whether the biggest platforms would honor them.

The reprimand matters because it tests whether Indonesia’s new framework has real enforcement teeth. The government has said repeated noncompliance could lead to escalating sanctions, including written warnings, temporary access suspensions and, ultimately, a full access ban. Meutya said the government had no choice but to proceed with sanctions, signaling that Jakarta is prepared to use the law against one of the world’s largest platforms rather than leave the rules as a statement of intent.

That approach places Indonesia alongside Australia, where an under-16 social media ban took effect on December 10, 2025 and applies to Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Reddit, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitch, X and YouTube. The comparison is important because it shows how governments are trying to force major tech firms to build age checks, account controls and compliance systems that go beyond voluntary promises. If Indonesia sustains enforcement, this first reprimand could become a template for Southeast Asia and a warning that platform power is increasingly meeting the hard edge of state regulation.