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Children are at an age where they are particularly susceptible to inappropriate content, making them highly vulnerable to the negative impacts of what they see and engage with. This underscores the need for vigilant and systematic supervision by parents and authorities to filter the types of content children can access.
Therefore, under the leadership of Minister Budi Arie Setiadi, the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology has stepped up its efforts to ensure the protection of children from exposure to violence and pornographic content, often hidden in gaming software. In a statement delivered, Minister Budi Arie Setiadi emphasised the crucial role of parents in supervising and monitoring the types of games their children play.
Minister Budi Arie explained that the government has established a game classification standard similar to the rating systems used in the film industry. “Every game on the market comes with a rating. Just as films are labelled with age restrictions like 13 years, 17 years, so are games,” he said. He added that Ministerial Regulation No. 2 of 2024 has been issued, explicitly regulating this classification, ensuring that every platform and game developer complies with these provisions.
According to Minister Budi Arie, the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology also actively monitors and ensures that game developers tailor their content to the targeted age groups. “If a game is declared for adults, children should not play it. This rating system makes it easier for parents to choose safe content for their children, just as they choose appropriate films,” he stated.
Furthermore, Minister Budi Arie emphasised the need for parental guidance, especially for young age groups, such as 3 and 7 years old, and teenagers aged 13 and 15. “Parents must take an active role in guiding and supervising their children. When a game is labelled for ages 13 or older, or 17 or older, parents should be more vigilant in monitoring it,” he asserted.
To assist parents in more effectively supervising their children’s gaming activities, the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, under the leadership of Minister Budi Arie Setiadi, specifically highlighted the importance of utilising the ‘kids mode’ or child mode feature. This feature is widely available across various devices and gaming platforms and was developed by device manufacturers and game developers.
When activated, this feature works by restricting access to content deemed inappropriate for children’s ages, such as content containing elements of violence and pornography. This greatly assists in maintaining a safe and conducive digital environment for children’s growth.
“We all have a collective responsibility to protect our children, especially from gaming content that contains elements of violence and pornography,” said Minister Budi Arie Setiadi in his closing remarks. He also reminded people that this protection is not only the responsibility of individuals or families but also the community and the nation.
Moreover, Minister Budi also underlined that in this increasingly connected global era, the role is not only as users or consumers of digital content but also as educators and protectors of the young generation. “It is important for us all to recognise that in this increasingly connected world, our role is not only as users or consumers of digital content but also as educators and protectors of the young generation,” he emphasised. This requires the public, especially parents, to be more proactive in monitoring and regulating children’s use of technology.
Minister Budi added that the government continues to commit to strengthening policies and regulations that support the creation of safe and educational content. This includes collaboration with various parties, such as internet service providers, application developers, and academic institutions, to ensure that children can access constructive information without being exposed to unnecessary risks.
Minister Budi Arie Setiadi affirmed that the government is working hard to protect children from the increasingly rampant negative digital influences. He invited all sectors of society to join this effort, creating a digital ecosystem that is not only innovative and informative but also safe and supportive of the positive development of children. This is part of the government’s vision to ensure that every child in Indonesia grows in an environment that supports their mental, emotional, and intellectual health.
