IEEE BACKS INDONESIA’S PIONEERING CHILD ONLINE SAFETY LAW, SETTING REGIONAL STANDARD

KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 (Bernama) -- The IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA), the global, consensus-building standards development organisation of IEEE, has played a crucial role in shaping Indonesia’s newly passed Government Regulation on the Governance of Electronic Systems in Child Protection.

This regulation is the first of its kind in Asia and the Global South, establishing enforceable requirements for digital platforms to protect children’s privacy, safety, and well-being, according to a statement.

Drawing on IEEE’s global expertise in children’s data governance and age-appropriate digital design, the organisation collaborated with Indonesian policymakers to integrate key frameworks into the regulatory process.

bootstrap slideshow

These contributions helped define protections against online addiction and other digital harms faced by children, who now constitute about one-third of all internet users globally.

The regulation mandates that online services likely to be accessed by children offer high levels of privacy by default. It explicitly bans practices such as user profiling, precise geolocation tracking, and manipulative design tactics that could erode privacy or extract excessive personal information.

This new law aligns with global best practices, including the UK's and California’s Age-Appropriate Design Codes, and incorporates standards such as IEEE 2089 and IEEE 2089.1. To support compliance, IEEE SA has also introduced a certification programme aimed at promoting best practices in age verification and child-centred design.

IEEE leaders emphasised that this achievement demonstrates the power of cross-sector collaboration to tackle complex socio-technical challenges. They hope Indonesia’s example will encourage similar policy developments in other countries.

To build on this momentum, IEEE SA recently launched the Technology Policy Collaborative, a global initiative to help governments craft effective digital governance strategies grounded in technical expertise and ethical considerations.

-- BERNAMA