Child’s play? Southeast Asia takes on Big Tech to protect kids online

AI Summary

Indonesia’s restrictions on social media use by children under 16 have not prevented some young users from accessing platforms by misrepresenting their ages. The article highlights the challenges Southeast Asian governments face in enforcing child online safety rules across social media and gaming services.

Indonesia officially barred under-16s from using “high-risk” social media earlier this year. But that hasn’t stopped the son of one Jakarta-based writer from using it. Aged 14, he already had accounts on Instagram and TikTok – among the platforms Jakarta said children would be banned from using – as well as popular video game Minecraft and gaming platform Roblox. To register, he simply lied about his age. “He can access everything,” Inne Abidin said of her son. “His friends use everything...