Meta Removes Nearly 185,000 Children’s Accounts in Indonesia in Just Two Months

Indonesia’s Ministry of Communications and Digital Technology reports that Meta has deactivated around 185,000 accounts belonging to users under 16. This follows a new government regulation protecting children from social media risks.

Meta has taken down nearly 185,000 accounts of Indonesian children under 16 years old. The removals happened over the last two months. Indonesia’s Ministry of Communications and Digital Technology confirmed this action.

The Indonesian government earlier introduced new rules for digital platforms. These rules require internet companies to find and remove accounts of underage users. The regulation aims to protect children from online risks on social media.

“According to the latest data Meta submitted to the government, they deactivated around 185,000 accounts of children under 16 in Indonesia over the last two months,” said Alexander Sabar, the ministry’s Director General for Digital Space Supervision.

He added that Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, became one of the biggest digital platforms to report underage account removals. The company complied with the new Indonesian government regulation designed to shield children from social media dangers.

Ministry data shows that more than 4.8 million underage accounts have been removed across major digital platforms. This total counts all removals since the regulation took effect on March 28. TikTok leads the numbers, removing around 4.1 million accounts. YouTube follows with 600,000 removals. Meta’s platforms account for roughly 185,000 of the total.

The ministry also issued a call to action. It urged other digital platforms still not submitting regular compliance reports to do so quickly. These platforms must show their steps to protect children and remove accounts of users below the minimum age.