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Govt urged to form task force to block phony news portals
The task force is expected to block all websites claiming to be news portals, but failing to declare legal identity.
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Post truth: The Communications and Information Ministry has been urged to set up a new task force to tackle hoaxes and fake news ahead of the elections. (Courtesy of Granta Publication/-)
T
he Press Council has urged the Communications and Information Ministry to set up a special task force authorized to take down all uncertified news portals before the elections next week.
The idea was first propounded by the ministry’s Applications and Information Directorate General in 2017. It is expected to block all websites claiming to be news portals, but failing to declare their company name, company structure, legal entity and address, as per the 1999 Press Law and the 2018 Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law.
Before taking down such media outlets, the task force will be required to confirm the media status with the council. The council will also help inform the ministry about the noncredible media outlets that they are aware of.
The 2015 data of the Press Council shows that at least 43,000 news portals are operating in the country, 168 of which are certified by the institution. The ministry has blocked several news portals, such as voa-islam.com, suaranews.com and izzamedia.com.
Press Council chairman Yosep Stanley Adi Prasetyo has expressed concerns that if the task force is not present during the elections, the government could mistakenly block media outlets that are actually certified or awaiting certification, while reporting the elections.
“Neither the ministry nor the police can independently identify which media outlets are certified and which are not,” he said in a discussion held at the Press Council building in Central Jakarta on Wednesday.
The discussion, titled ‘Press Freedom Under the Shadows of Cyber Criminalization’, was attended by various professionals and institutions, such as journalists and academics.
