Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - After receiving criticism for restricting several online services and games, Indonesia temporarily allowe...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - After receiving criticism for restricting several online services and games, Indonesia temporarily allowed access to online payment company PayPal to allow users to access their money, a top official said on Sunday.
Due to missed deadlines under licencing regulations, the Indonesian communication ministry on Saturday disabled PayPal, Yahoo's search engine, and many gambling services.
Registration is necessary under regulations that went into effect in late November 2020 and allow authorities broad authority to force platforms to divulge data about specific users and remove information that is deemed illegal or "disturbs public order."
In an online conference on Sunday, Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, a top official in Indonesia's communications ministry, announced that the country is allowing access to PayPal for five working days.
He added that there had been no word from PayPal yet, but hoped that the users would have enough time to switch, collect their money, and find other services.
On a post on Instagram by the Communication Ministry on Saturday, thousands of comments criticising the government's ban on unregistered digital services swamped the platform.
Many responses claimed that the government's action was detrimental to PayPal-using independent contractors and Indonesia's online gambling business.
According to Semuel, who defended the decision as security for Indonesian internet users and the digital ecosystem, authorities would unblock the websites if they complied with registration requirements.
He noted that the operators of other impacted gaming platforms, such as Steam, Dota, and Counter-Strike, have been in contact with the authorities.
Emails from Reuters seeking comment from PayPal and video game developer Valve Corporation were not immediately returned.
