Yogyakarta, 4 July 2025 — As internet access becomes increasingly prevalent among children, ensuring a safe digital environment has emerged as an urgent priority. According to data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) in 2024, 35.5 percent of children aged 0–4 years have accessed the internet, indicating that digital exposure now begins at a very early age. While this brings opportunities for learning and development, it also presents serious risks—including exposure to harmful content, cyberbullying, and digital exploitation.
In response, the Centre for Digital Society (CfDS) at Universitas Gadjah Mada held a public discussion under its DIFUSSION #124 series, titled “Protecting Children in Digital Spaces: Can the PP TUNAS Regulation Provide the Answer?” The discussion featured experts on child digital protection: Andy Ardian (National Coordinator of ECPAT Indonesia), Nenden Sekar Arum (Executive Director of SAFENet), and Ayom Mratita Purbandani (Researcher at CfDS UGM). The session was moderated by Nabila Rizkita (Researcher at CfDS UGM).
The forum explored Government Regulation No. 17/2025, known as PP TUNAS, which aims to establish legal protection for children in digital ecosystems. Andy Ardian opened the discussion by highlighting the alarming rise in online child sexual abuse cases. “In 2024, we received 707 reports, with 236 confirmed as CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material),” he revealed. Andy warned that Indonesia risks becoming a safe haven for storing such content and called for stronger action from both government and digital platforms to curb its distribution.
Nenden Sekar Arum emphasized the ethical accountability of digital platforms. “Children are vulnerable users, and platforms control the algorithms and monetization systems that influence their exposure and behavior. Without transparency, we have no insight into how these systems work or how risks are mitigated,” she stated. She underscored that protecting children online must also be a matter of ethical responsibility and business integrity for tech companies.
Meanwhile, Ayom Mratita critiqued the limitations of the PP TUNAS regulation. While acknowledging it as a step forward, she noted key weaknesses. “This regulation is a derivative of the Electronic Information and Transactions Law (ITE Law), not the Personal Data Protection (PDP) Law, making it weak in addressing children’s personal data management,” she explained. She also pointed out the absence of technical standards for age verification, the lack of a clear definition for “high privacy levels,” and the limited mechanisms for child participation in the design of digital systems.
In closing, all panelists agreed that PP TUNAS represents a necessary starting point that must be monitored and refined over time. They called for child digital protection to become a collective agenda—one that involves cooperation among the government, digital platforms, civil society, and children themselves, as the rightful stakeholders in shaping a safer digital future.
(Reported by Noor)