TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Former Indonesian Minister of Education and Culture, Anies Baswedan, stated that the Indonesia Game Rating System (IGRS), launched by the Ministry of Communication and Digital, should be used by the government to protect children from negative exposure to digital game content. According to Anies, IGRS should not be a tool for the government to restrict children's rights, but should be utilized as an empowerment tool.
"Game ratings should be a tool for parents to build children's resilience by training them to be independent and capable of protecting themselves, rather than being an instrument for government censorship," said the Jakarta Governor for the period 2017-2022 in a post on X @aniesbaswedan on Monday, April 6, 2026.
IGRS is a regulation that provides guidelines for selecting games suitable for children's ages. IGRS was initiated in 2016 through the issuance of the Minister of Communication and Information Regulation Number 11 of 2016 concerning the Classification of Electronic Interactive Games.
During his tenure as Minister of Education and Culture from 2014-2016, Anies stated that he was directly involved in the deliberation of the IGRS formation with the Minister of Communication and Information. The government then classified all game products, both local and global, circulated in Indonesia based on age groups, namely 3+, 7+, 13+, 15+, and 18+.
This regulation was reinforced in Presidential Regulation Number 19 of 2024 concerning the Acceleration of National Game Industry Development and Minister of Communication and Information Regulation Number 2 of 2024 concerning Game Classification.
Anies explained that there are two approaches to protecting children when interacting with digital content. First, by creating a sterilized environment through the application of filters and blocking. Second, by building children's and families' immunity, which is considered more impactful and sustainable.
He recommended that the government prioritize the immunity approach by collaborating with the gaming community. Even better, Anies said, if the government allows the gaming community itself to carry out activities with government facilities.
"There is no need to pretend to know what is best for every segment of society. Having authority does not automatically mean having knowledge," he said.
The discourse on IGRS has drawn attention from several gamers on social media X. They questioned the accuracy of IGRS age ratings for certain game titles on the Steam platform. They believed that the age ratings did not correspond to the content of the games.
Sonny Hendra Sudaryana, Director of Digital Ecosystem Development at the Ministry of Communication and Information, stated that the ratings displayed on the Steam platform originated from an internal self-declaration mechanism and had not undergone official government verification. Kemkomdigi will seek clarification from Steam and engage in further discussions to ensure compliance with national regulations.
"The circulating ratings are not the result of official IGRS classification. This has the potential to create misunderstanding among the public, especially regarding the suitability of a game's age," said Sonny as quoted by Antara on Monday.
Read: IGRS Rating on Steam Is Not an Official Classification, Says Indonesian Ministry
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