Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - As of Wednesday at noon, neither Alphabet Inc.'s Google nor Twitter Inc. had ratified Indonesia'...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - As of Wednesday at noon, neither Alphabet Inc.'s Google nor Twitter Inc. had ratified Indonesia's new licence regulations, according to ministry documents, and a deadline loomed that could result in their services being temporarily prohibited in the nation.
The registration is necessary under regulations that were published in late 2020 and give authorities broad authority to force platforms to disclose data of specific users and remove content that is deemed illegal or that "disturbs public order" within four hours if urgent, and within 24 hours if not.
According to the communications ministry, businesses that fail to register by the cutoff time of Wednesday night at just before midnight would be censured, penalised, and ultimately blocked—a decision that will be overturned after they register. Although the ministry did not specify a specific date for the block to go into force, it is not likely to happen right away.
Google and Twitter were not included on a list of international service providers that have agreed to the new regulations as of Wednesday noon, according to the communications ministry.
Requests for comment from Google and Twitter did not immediately receive a response.
According to the ministry's records, Meta Platforms Inc. subsidiaries Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp registered on Tuesday, while other services like Spotify, Netflix, and ByteDance's TikTok also did so.
With 10 million young, tech-savvy people, Indonesia ranks among the top 10 markets for the number of users for a variety of social media companies.
The purpose of the new regulations, according to the government, is to guarantee that internet service providers safeguard client data and that online material is utilised "positively and productively."
If required by law police or other government organisations, it can also compel businesses to provide communications and personal information of particular users.
Large internet platforms, according to two individuals, are still concerned about the regulation's effects on data and content as well as the possibility of government overreach.
Some of the new guidelines' provisions, according to the Alliance of Independent Journalists in Indonesia, are "extremely elastic" and subject to abuse.
The organisation warned on Twitter that the result could be that certain groups, including the government or law enforcement, may find investigative reports or news that discloses rights breaches upsetting.
