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Digital firms given six extra months to comply with new internet policy
A regulation signed by Communications and Information Minister Johnny G. Plate in November 2020 grants the ministry sweeping authority to censor digital content.
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A regulation signed by Communications and Information Minister Johnny G. Plate in November 2020 grants the ministry sweeping authority to censor digital content. (Shutterstock/File)
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ocal and foreign digital service providers have been granted a six-month grace period to register with the government as mandated by a recent regulation that grants the state sweeping authority to censor digital content.
Communications and Information Ministerial Regulation No. 5/2020, signed by minister Johnny G. Plate in November of last year, allows the ministry to remove prohibited content on digital platforms owned by the public, individuals or private companies, known as digital service providers (PSEs).
The provision applies to a wide range of domestic and foreign digital platforms, including social media sites, search engines, financial technology platforms and data processing sites whose services are accessible in Indonesia.
The policy’s initial deadline for registration was Monday, when the powers stipulated in the regulation were to come into effect. If a platform failed to register by that time, the ministry reserved the right to block access to it.
Read also: 'Tool for censorship': Newly effective regulation could curb free speech in Indonesia
But this deadline has been extended for another six months, the ministry’s director general for applications and informatics Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan announced on Monday.
He said the extension had been granted because PSEs would need to register through the Risk-Based Approach Online Single Submission (RBA-OSS) system managed by the Investment Ministry. The system is set to be launched on June 2.
