Jakarta. A former commander of Indonesia’s elite anti-terror squad Detachment 88 has warned that the police discovery of 110 minors recruited by militant networks in 2025 is likely only a fraction of the real number.

“If we dig deeper, the 110 children are just the visible tip of the iceberg. There are many more, because social media today is extremely massive,” Martinus Hukom said in an interview with Beritasatu TV on Wednesday.

Martinus said militant groups are now leveraging social-media algorithms that track the behavioral patterns of children and teenagers. Recruitment no longer happens solely on messaging platforms, but also through online games equipped with chat features, making digital monitoring far more complex.

“When I led Detachment 88 between 2020 and 2023, their digital space was more limited -- mostly Telegram. Today, police face a much bigger workload because there are so many more platforms,” he said.

Martinus explained that children seek moral authority from different environments at different developmental phases. From ages 0 to 5, they look to the family. However, during early adolescence -- around ages 5 to 12 -- they begin seeking guidance from gaming and play environments.

“This is where digital platforms present a new moral authority for children. And we must understand very clearly that there is a new moral patron in our children’s lives,” he said.

Call for Stronger Supervision and Parental Control
Martinus said closer supervision of digital platforms is urgently needed -- both through public policy and parental involvement -- to prevent children from being exposed to ideological manipulation.

“Children must not enter digital spaces and then have their morals reshaped, especially when they encounter groups spreading radical teachings,” he warned.

Martinus stressed that preventing online radicalization requires shared responsibility between government, parents, digital-platform operators, schools, and communities, describing it as a race to protect children from extremist recruitment efforts that target them where they spend most of their time: online.

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