Yohana Yembise, the minister for women’s empowerment and child protectionproposed to ban the use of mobile phones by children last week. Her remarks came in the wake of a police investigation into a viral video depicting a boy and a girl, believed to be no older than 10 years, engage in sexual acts. Child protection activists have described the video as “massively disturbing” after it was uploaded to the Internet from a location in eastern Java a week ago.

The minister said mobile phones could lead children to harmful websites, including those containing pornography. They also distract children from their studies and impair their social skills. Yohana also proposed extending a partial ban to teenagers.

The plan seems to have found a favorable reception among a portion of Indonesian parents and several legislators. Children’s rights activists, on the other hand, have decried the minister’s proposed ban, saying that the government must instead focus on educating children and parents about using technology wisely and positively.

bbabo.Net