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Tifatul to ease back from pushing through Web bill
Communications and Information Technology Minister Tifatul Sembiring said Wednesday he would press ahead with a planned bill to monitor Internet content, despite claims it would violate freedom of expression
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ommunications and Information Technology Minister Tifatul Sembiring said Wednesday he would press ahead with a planned bill to monitor Internet content, despite claims it would violate freedom of expression.
The minister, however, said he would only resume the public deliberation of the bill once the protests surrounding it had subsided.
"This draft regulation has apparently jangled some nerves in the public," Tifatul told a hearing with the House of Representatives' Commission I on defense, foreign affairs and communications.
"I've thus decided to implement a cool-down period while we analyze all the suggestions from the public."
He did not say how long the Communications and Information Technology Ministry would draw out that period.
"Once everything has calmed down, we'll meet again with the House *to discuss the draft regulation*," he added.
The minister did not rule out the possibility of scrapping the entire draft should it breach existing laws, but told legislators he had found no indications yet to that effect.
Tifatul said the bill had been in the works since 2006, three years before he became minister.
"That very same draft was around for a while, but the outcry is very recent," he said.
The draft was initiated after a group of people expressed concern about the "negative aspects" of the Internet, Tifatul pointed out.
They sought to "protect the public from dangerous materials" posted on the Internet, including pornography, gambling, and content of a racist, violent or slanderous nature, the minister said. "The people want the Internet to be safe for users of all ages and background," he said.
Legislator Roy Suryo Notodiprodjo, from the Democratic Party, said he welcomed Tifatul's plan to suspend pushing the draft for the time being.
"I agree we need to regulate Internet content, but not such that the state is granted the power to impinge on freedom of speech," he told The Jakarta Post.
Critics say that if the regulation is enacted, it would pose a serious threat to freedom of expression at a time when the Internet has become a key source of information and a rallying point for massive social campaigns.
Internet users have posted their objections to the bill on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. They say there are many other ways to curb the negative impacts of the Internet besides what they deem "censorship" in the form of the ministry's draft.
On Monday, Tifatul became embroiled in a heated debate over contentious issues in the bill with his followers on Twitter.
Margiyono, from the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), urged the government to help set up a multi-stakeholder commission - along the lines of the Indonesia Broadcasting Commission (KPI) for TV and radio - to monitor Internet content.
Last week, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said at a Cabinet meeting that none of his ministers could draft regulations without first consulting him, singling out the multimedia content bill proposed by Tifatul.
