TikTok, YouTube cut 4.7 million accounts as global crackdown spreads

Indonesia has shut down about 4.7 million social media accounts held by children under 16, the country’s communications minister said, as the government’s new rules on young users start to take hold.

Officials called the figure an early sign that platforms are beginning to meet their duty to keep children safe online. The deactivations are part of carrying out Government Regulation No. 17 of 2025 on the Governance of Electronic Systems in Child Protection, known as PP TUNAS.

“TikTok has taken down 4.1 million accounts as of June. YouTube reported around 600,000 accounts in May. We want other platforms to follow,” said Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid, speaking during a visit to the ANTARA photojournalism exhibition.

TikTok, built by Chinese tech firm ByteDance, suspended 4.1 million accounts, while YouTube, the video site owned by Google’s parent Alphabet, suspended about 600,000. Around 200 other digital platforms have handed in self-assessments to the government, Meutya added.

Officials are now going through each platform’s risk profile to make the digital space safer for children. She said the rules use a risk-based approach so platforms are pushed to make their services friendlier for children. “We don’t just want to delay children’s access, we also want a change in behaviour from the platforms. So we built the rules based on risk, or risk-based,” she said.

In March, Indonesia brought in the rule telling social media firms with platforms it sees as high risk to switch off accounts owned by children under 16. So far that list has included X, Meta’s Instagram and the gaming site Roblox.

Starmer pushed for a tougher UK ban

Britain will stop children under 16 from using a range of apps, including Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube, to keep them away from harmful content and too much screen time, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said last week. The plan drew mixed views, with some praising Starmer for acting and others doubting a blanket ban would work.

YouTube and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, warned that a sweeping ban could push children into online spaces with no rules. “Blanket bans push kids out of such curated, supervised, beneficial experiences and towards anonymous, less-safe services,” a YouTube spokesperson said. Meta said a ban could send teenagers to places with no parental controls.

Starmer admitted it would not be easy but said: “I do believe we can enforce it.” He went on: “Teenagers drink before they should, but we do not then say, ‘in which case let us abandon any attempt to stop them buying alcohol.’”

Starmer accepted that some teenagers would try to get around the ban. But he said he is “not prepared to compromise on the safety and happiness of our children.”

“Every parent can see it with their own eyes. Social media is making children unhappy,” said Starmer, who has two teenage children. “I’ve heard first hand from families crying out for change and we will do right by them.”

The ban is expected to start early next year and puts the UK alongside a growing list of countries tightening online safety for children. Australia, Canada, Brazil and Indonesia have passed laws or announced age limits. France, Spain, Denmark, Thailand and South Korea are among those studying similar steps.

A growing global push, backed by grieving families

The UK plans to copy Australia, which last year became the first country to stop under-16s from having social media accounts as reported by Cryptopolitan previously. Platforms that fail to take reasonable steps to keep out younger children could face fines worth millions of dollars.

The UK said its ban will cover Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X, but not YouTube Kids or messaging apps like WhatsApp and Signal. Starmer said action will target tech companies, not children.

He called the move a “big moment for our country” and said he would go further than Australia, acting to stop strangers contacting children on gaming and live-streaming sites. Officials are also weighing overnight curfews and breaks in endless scrolling for under-18s, with more details due next month.

The decision follows a public comment period that drew 116,000 responses from parents, the tech industry and children. More than 90% wanted an under-16 ban, the government said.