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Government to continue cracking down on websites: Minister
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n an attempt to eradicate the dissemination of fake news and other harmful contents from cyberspace, the Indonesian government will continue with its plan to block websites thought to violate regulations it has set forth, a minister has said.
“We never consider the [website owner's] affiliation. What we consider is the content. As long as it spreads content that violates our regulation, we will take an action,” Communications and Information Minister Rudiantara said in a speech during a forum about technology held in Jakarta on Thursday.
As previously reported, the government has blocked about 800,000 websites as of December last year, most of which contained pornographic material or gambling opportunities. Eighty-five of them were related to radicalism.
The ministry has produced a regulation as the legal basis to block the sites and set up a team to scrutinize reports from the public.
The ministry recently began cooperating with the Press Council to monitor online media outlets to curb the dissemination of fake news or hoaxes.
Rudiantara has repeatedly asked social media giants, such as Facebook and Twitter, to filter information on their sites that promote hoaxes.
(Read also: Jokowi declares fight against disseminators of fake news)
Democracy activists, however, have lambasted the government’s move regarding its decision to block suarapapua.com, a news site based in Papua, in December last year.
The Press Legal Aid Institute (LBH Press) defended suarapapua.com, saying the website already adhered to the principles of journalistic ethics and that the block was a violation of freedom of expression. (jun)
