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Bitter lesson from Netflix’s love-hate relationship with government
The government can actually do more to improve the quality of Indonesian movies or solve the problems facing the broadcasting industry, like censorship, rather than blocking Netflix.
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Movie on the go: The movie streaming industry is booming thanks to the advancement of information and communication technology. The Communications and Information Ministry has threatened to ban one of the major industry players, Netflix, for failing to promote local movies. (JP/Jerry Adiguna)
Perhaps the most dramatic love story this year has been Netflix’s love-hate relationship with the Indonesian government.
The streaming service was ditched by the Communications and Information Ministry and was even at risk of getting blocked, yet at the same time was openly received by the charming and charismatic education and culture minister. The communications ministry threatened to block Netflix for offering fewer Indonesian movies on its platform than imported original products.
Thus, the government wants Netflix to increase the percentage of Indonesian movies on its platform. Regardless of whether the argument is true, we can see the government’s efforts to protect Indonesian products, which constitutes an intervention in the market mechanism.
On the other hand, the education minister, Nadiem Makarim, has opened the door wide for Netflix and considers it a partner of the government. Nadiem has invited the on-demand movie streaming platform to collaboratively improve the quality of Indonesian filmmakers through joint capacity-building programs, such as sending Indonesian filmmakers to Hollywood. The platform has even mulled disbursing US$1 million to fund the collaboration program.
The contrasting responses of the two government officials to Netflix have corroborated the common perception that the Indonesian government never really has a clear stand on its economic paradigm. At a glance, Indonesia under President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is in favor of neoliberalism but on the other hand shows its protectionist face.
No need to go into a deep analysis, the government’s development priorities on infrastructure and education over the last five years underlines its aim for market expansion. This is supported by the appointment of Nadiem, former chief executive officer of tech unicorn Gojek, to create a link and match mechanism between education and the market.
Not to mention the efforts in de-bureaucratization and streamlining of regulations to lure investors, including the controversial omnibus bill on employment creation. These reflect what The Economist stated in January 2010 that in the period of technological revolution, the government should only contribute to creating conditions for business to invest, such as in education and infrastructure. Other than that, the government should stay away.
