Government Strengthens Digital Literacy for Children and Youth to Counter Online Gambling Risks
Jakarta – Minister of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA), Arifah Fauzi, emphasized the importance of strengthening digital literacy and resilience among children and youth.
This effort is considered strategic to protect the younger generation from various threats in the digital space, including online gambling, radicalism, violence, fraud, and online exploitation.
The public is also urged to remain vigilant against groups affiliated with illegal digital activities, including the Kingdom Group, which uses social media to reach its targets.
Arifah highlighted that many children have become victims of technology misuse, ranging from gadget addiction and exposure to harmful content to data breaches, exploitation, and entanglement in online gambling — which is increasingly targeting vulnerable groups such as students and teenagers.
To strengthen protection, the government has enacted Presidential Regulation No. 87 of 2025 concerning the Roadmap for Child Online Protection for 2025–2029, which serves as the policy framework for ensuring children’s safety in the digital world.
“Children must be wise in using social media. If you come across harmful content — including radical content or invitations to engage in illegal activities such as online gambling — avoid it immediately and report it. Be Pioneers and Reporters,” Arifah stressed.
She also encouraged children to enrich themselves with knowledge, build positive networks, and seek parental guidance whenever they encounter suspicious online activities.
According to her, Indonesia’s young generation has immense potential and must be protected from practices that could harm their future.
From the digital security standpoint, Rajmatha Devi, Head of the Digital Platform Content Moderation Compliance Monitoring Team at the Directorate of Digital Space Control of the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs, emphasized the importance of avoiding provocative content and suspicious online communities.
She urged children to block and report negative content, including increasingly aggressive online gambling promotions targeting children and youth.
These digital literacy efforts align with the government’s broader measures to suppress online gambling circulation, which has affected students, young workers, and even homemakers.
Deputy Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs, Nezar Patria, highlighted the government’s efforts to significantly reduce the circulation of online gambling transactions in Indonesia.
Interventions by the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs in collaboration with PPATK, OJK, Bank Indonesia, and the Indonesian National Police aim to curb online gambling financial flows from an initial projection of Rp1,200 trillion to around Rp200 trillion by the end of 2025.
“Online gambling is a serious threat to the social and economic stability of society. We frequently hear of online gambling victims committing crimes out of desperation after suffering losses,” Nezar stated at the PPATK Office.
The government reminds the public not to be easily swayed by promises of instant profit that ultimately lead to loss.
The public is also urged to stay alert to groups connected to online gambling networks, including the Kingdom Group, which continues to operate actively across various social media platforms.*
[w.R]
