The ministry said the planned regulation would require digital platforms, including Google and Meta, to prioritize news from media outlets verified by the Press Council and to take down news that was not in accordance with the Press Law or journalistic ethics from their search engines and other features.

"Yes, [both of those obligations] are included. We submitted the draft of the bill this afternoon," Usman Kansong, the ministry's director general for information and public communication, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

The July 13 draft of the regulation seen by the Post also requires digital platforms to share some limited data with media companies, including the demographics of readers.

The proposal also requires tech platforms’ algorithms to follow applicable laws.

Usman said the regulation pushed for business relations between media companies and digital platforms, which could include financial compensation.

According to the July 13 draft, this could take the form of paid licensing, revenue sharing or other types of partnerships agreed upon by the two parties. Tech platforms must strike a deal with local media outlets before using their content.

The ministry finalized the draft on Thursday, Usman noted. When asked whether media players and digital platforms supported the terms of the regulation, he said that was beyond the ministry’s responsibilities.

"What we need to do is provide room for dialogue and give an understanding to both parties about all of the concerns," he said.

On July 14, the Press Council pushed for the quick issuance of the presidential regulation.

The body cited President Jokowi's statement on the National Press Day in February that the news industry was “not doing so well” as 60 percent of the country's advertising market was dominated by big tech companies. The Press Council said this showed the urgent need for a regulation that supported media sustainability.

At the time, President Jokowi set a one-month deadline for the regulation to be finalized, a target that has been missed by more than four months.

A number of provisions in the July 13 draft were watered down from the previous ones seen by the Post.

For instance, the draft no longer requires tech platforms to inform news outlets of algorithm changes, and there is no mechanism to ensure tech platforms and news outlets can overcome negotiation deadlocks.

Read also: News firms push for a rule on ads-revenue sharing and algorithm in Big Tech

The proposal also stipulates that if there is a dispute over a contract, digital platforms and media players may bring it to an independent committee to be established by the Press Council.

The committee would have at most eleven members, with five from Press Council, another five from experts in digital services and one from the Communications and Information Ministry.

The draft says members of the committee should not be affiliated with either media companies or digital platforms.

Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) chairman Sasmito Madrim said he had not seen the final draft submitted by the ministry, despite having been involved in the discussion process since the beginning.

He expressed concern over whether the government should be the one supervising the dispute-resolution committee.

"The press community wants the committee to be put under the Press Council, as we had a bad experience when the government controlled the press under the New Order," Sasmito told the Post on Tuesday.

In the recent draft seen by the Post, the committee is to operate independently, despite being established by the Press Council. However, in its operations, the draft says, the committee may coordinate with the ministry.

Lessons from Australia

Wenseslaus "Wens" Manggut, chairman of the Indonesian Cyber Media Association (AMSI), said the regulation was a "way back home" for media companies and the public to get “quality journalism” and “quality information”.

However, he noted that business partnerships between media companies and digital platforms could end in deadlocks, as in Australia, where Facebook blocked users’ access to news before reaching a deal to amend proposed law.

"We don't know how digital platforms will respond to the regulation. But for us, we will stick to aiming for quality journalism," Wens told the Post on Tuesday.

Read also: Jokowi makes play for media sustainability

Devi Ariyani, executive director at the Indonesia Services Dialogue (ISD) Council, which represents the voices of the services sector, including the digital technology industry, with tech giants Meta and Google among its members, said that there was "progress" in the latest draft.

"Especially on the point where the partnerships were encouraged to be private agreements and the dispute committee to be independent," Devi told the Post on Tuesday.

However, she still questioned some parts of the draft, such as the requirements to share demographic data, adding that it should be a private decision between media companies and digital platforms.

Devi also said the proposed regulation should not undermine users' personal media preferences or young independent journalists who were starting their careers.

"I hope this regulation will not have negative repercussions or unintended consequences that disrupt the public’s right to information," Devi said.

AJI's Sasmito also said the remuneration for media companies should be distributed in support of quality journalism.

"We will monitor whether the proceeds from the revenue sharing from digital platforms go to journalists or are used for other things by media companies," he said.

Google and Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment.