TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Blocking internet jeopardizes early warnings
The government blocked the internet for the second time last month since a temporary ban was imposed on the grounds of avoiding further violence following the official announcement of the presidential election results
Change Size
T
span>The government blocked the internet for the second time last month since a temporary ban was imposed on the grounds of avoiding further violence following the official announcement of the presidential election results. This time the reason cited was to avoid further spread of incitements to unrest after Papuan students were inflicted with racist slurs in Surabaya, East Java.
Any good intentions for blocking the internet to stop the spread of hoaxes, hate speech and misinformation, including the sharing of photos and videos on social media, although temporary, do not outweigh the adverse effects.
Studies have shown that the effectiveness of banning social media is still disputable. Obvious impacts include financial loses to e-commerce sites, such as online shopping platforms via WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram.
What did we learn from the previous internet ban in Jakarta?
Missing from the controversy was how the ban can jeopardize the early warning capability ahead of natural hazards in Indonesia. Social media has a role to provide information to the community about imminent risks, such as upcoming floods, tsunami and volcano eruptions.
Research from Chatfield and Brajawidagda published in 2012 stated that government agencies responsible for emergency and disaster services used social media for early warnings and clarifying often alarming misinformation. This function would cease to exist if the internet is blocked.
During the social media ban of May 22 to 26 after the announcement of the general elections results, Mount Agung on Bali erupted massively. The volcano ejected lava, causing fires 3 kilometers away from the peak.
On May 24 the local disaster mitigation agency stated the ash falling from the eruption, which started at 7:23 p.m., affected surrounding regencies and villages. Social media was late to catch up with the news of the eruption, which had occurred the previous week. Fortunately no deaths were reported and no evacuations were needed.
Meanwhile, Australian media had spread the news over Nine News Australia with 53 retweets. @9NewsAUS tweeted: “Bali Eruption: Travelers to Bali are being put on alert following the eruption of Gunung Agung on the Indonesian island last night. Large ash has flooded the atmosphere, causing havoc for flyers.”
Most information came from Australia. One person, Tasha Wibawa, tweeted about the eruption causing the cancellation of all flights after 11 p.m. on the same day. The account @tashtania read: “Gunung Agung erupted, spewing lava up to 3kms overnight. All @JetstarAirways flights to Australia from #Bali after 11 p.m. cancelled until further notice #mountAgung.”
The video of the eruption was uploaded to YouTube by VolcanoYT and Tanaya Homestay Bali on May 24. Almost 200 accounts shared “Mt Agung Erupsi/Eruption", mostly overseas as the government had blocked the local internet.
The press release on the Mt. Agung eruption from the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation was only shared by one Twitter account, seemingly that of a foreigner. Even the provincial disaster mitigation agency did not tweet or mention the eruption. The only response was a press release about the volcano on the following day on its website.
Does this mean that early warning systems collapsed when the temporary ban was in place? Clearly the community heard the eruption and witnessed the explosion on Bali. The media, however, largely focused on the election violence in Jakarta. While local government bodies could still spread the news via other means, reaching a wider community is vital, which is possible through social media.
Worst-case scenarios, which we have often witnessed, would be repeated forest fires, earthquakes and tsunami, floods and landslides or a prolonged eruption leading to a large number of flight cancellations, stranded tourists and a massive influx of displaced people. It could have been worse. The ability to disseminate and make viral early warnings would be severely hindered by a social media ban and the blocking of the internet.
Based on Indonesia’s Disaster Data and Information Database from 1914 to 2019 in Papua and West Papua provinces, there were 202 disasters, which among other effects killed almost 8,100 people, injured more than 8,400 others, affected more than 320,000 people, damaged almost 700 schools and more than 180 health facilities.
Since Papua is also prone to natural hazards, in 2017 the National Disaster Mitigation Agency established one of the most comprehensive emergency operation centers in Papua.
While internet can send information over landlines from Jakarta to Papua’s capital, Jayapura, early warning messages can still go through phone calls, SMS and radio communications. The function of spreading disaster information to the general public would still be weak as people should now be able to receive warnings from social media and instant messaging.
In the future, the government should no longer block video sharing, or photo sharing on social media and no longer resort to blocking the entire mobile internet network. There are other alternative methods and approaches.
Facebook, for instance, blocks individual accounts such as that of Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, and Alex Jones of the Info Wars platform, while it continues its attempts to stop hate speech and hoaxes despite criticisms that Facebook is too slow.
In Finland, the International Press Institute in 2018 stated that in dealing with fake news, disinformation and hate speech, better media literacy and public trust in professional news media outlets are viable means to curb some of the most harmful effects of such misleading information. The government provides guidelines for media literacy to the public and schools.
A project called “Faktana, kiitos!” (Facts please!) has deployed nearly 125 journalists to schools to teach 7,200 students about getting the facts right. Several initiatives have also emerged in Indonesia that are essential for our future generations and future leaders.
Such measures addressing misinformation and the like would not jeopardize any early warning systems.
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo’s honeymoon is over, particularly with Papua, which he more frequently visited compared to his predecessors. Reality is setting in for Jokowi to face unresolved issues such as human right abuses, separatist movements and the unhindered right to information, including in times of disaster.
__________________
PhD candidate at the College of Indigenous Futures, Arts and Society, Charles Darwin University, Northern Territory, Australia, and research associate of the Institute of Resource Governance and Social Change, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara
