Jakarta. French President Emmanuel Macron gives a thumbs up to Indonesia’s social media ban for minors as Paris backs a similar plan.

Indonesia will begin restricting social media access for minors under 16 on March 28. Indonesia is Southeast Asia's biggest digital economy, and hosts hundreds of millions of internet users. As inappropriate content goes rampant in the digital realm, Indonesia decided to impose the age restrictions. This move puts Jakarta in Macron’s good books.

“Thanks for joining the movement,” Macron said Friday on the social network X, quoting an AFP post on Indonesia’s ban.

Macron even included a check mark emoji, further reflecting his approval.

Communications Minister Meutya Hafid claimed that Indonesia was the first “non-Western nation” to impose such restrictions that would target what she referred to as “high-risk platforms”. Indonesia will gradually deactivate minors’ accounts on popular networks such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, X, Threads, Bigo Live, and Facebook. The well-beloved online gaming platform Roblox will also not be safe from the ban.

“We realize this implementation may create discomfort at the beginning. Children may complain, and parents may not know how to respond. But we believe this [restriction] is the best course of action for the government in this digital emergency,” Meutya said.

Indonesia is home to around 66,769 minors aged 14 and under, according to the Central Statistics Agency’s data updated as of Feb. 6. About 22,070 people are in the 15-19 age category.

In January, the French National Assembly had greenlit the bill aimed at banning social media use for minors under the age of 15. The bill will go to the upper house, the Senate, for approval.

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