The cyberlaw most notably contains vague provisions on what constitutes defamation on the web that have long been criticized by activists for curbing freedom of speech and silencing critics.

The government expects the new guidelines, introduced in a joint ministerial decree signed by the communications and information minister, the attorney general and the National Police chief on Wednesday, to prevent multiple interpretations among law enforcement agencies that handle online defamation cases.

The guidelines say criminal charges for online defamation are only applicable in cases where accusations are found to have the intent to harm an individual's honor, and that the charges are not applicable to statements found to be opinions and facts. The guidelines also say that electronic information containing light mockery or inappropriate words does not constitute online defamation.

They reaffirm that only the offended party may file a report against the offender to the police, as long as the offended party is not a minor.

The document also sets new conditions for the use of seven other controversial articles in the law, including those penalizing online obscenity and online hate speech. It says not all content containing nudity is categorized as online obscenity, such as materials for educational purposes on the human anatomy.

Read also: Pressure on for Indonesian police to end online witch hunt

​​​​​​However, a coalition of rights groups that includes SAFEnet and Amnesty International Indonesia rejected the guidelines, which they said would not end the criminalization of online speech.

"We see the guidelines as proof that the ITE Law is full of problems. The guidelines should not be considered as a substitute for the revision of the ITE Law,” the coalition said on Thursday.

It also questioned the lack of public involvement in the making of the guidelines and demanded that the government suspend any ongoing investigations into ITE cases.

Sugeng Purnomo, who heads a government-commissioned team to coordinate a policy study into the ITE Law and help devise its revision, said the Communications and Information Ministry was preparing a program geared to educating law enforcement officials about the guidelines. Part of the team’s task is to distribute the guidelines in the form of a book.

"[We] hope the new guidelines can close the gap for multiple interpretations," Sugeng told a press briefing on Thursday.

[RA::Government plans limited ITE Law amendment. Activists say it’s not enough.::

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But Sugeng conceded that he could only hope for the commitment of law enforcement officials to following the information in the guidebook, adding that he was in consensus with a majority of the civil groups in urging the government to also revise the ITE Law outright.

He further revealed that his team had prepared a draft for the revision of the law, with Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD having already sent a letter to Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly urging the revision to be included in this year’s National Legislation Program.

Mahfud said earlier this month that the government had opted for a partial revision of the law by introducing stricter definitions to eliminate any vagueness in key articles, including articles on online defamation, hate speech and obscenity.