Internet & Online Safety · Indonesia
Internet & Online Safety - Indonesia
Indonesia has an extensive, in-force online-content and safety regime built on the ITE Law, the MR5/2020 intermediary-liability/registration rules, and the 2025 'PP Tunas' child-protection regulation. Platforms ('Private Electronic System Operators') must register with Komdigi, take down 'prohibited' or 'negative' content within 4-24 hours, and now verify users' ages and restrict under-16s on high-risk platforms. The framework is comprehensive but heavily criticized as repressive, pairing broad takedown/blocking powers and criminal-defamation provisions with frequent state blocking of sites and apps.
MoCI Regulation 5/2020 requires all private electronic system operators (social media, search, marketplaces, messaging) accessible in Indonesia to register with Komdigi or face blocking, accept content-removal obligations on tight timeframes (within 24 hours generally, 4 hours for 'urgent' content), appoint local contacts, and provide authorities access to systems/user data.
The Electronic Information and Transactions Law (Law 11/2008), most recently amended by Law 1/2024, criminalizes online defamation (Art. 27A, up to 2 years), hoaxes, and immoral/hate content, and empowers the government to order operators to adjust systems or terminate access; critics say it chills online expression.
Government Regulation 17/2025 ('PP Tunas'), effective from late March 2026 with technical rules in Komdigi Reg. 9/2026, requires age-inferential verification, parental consent for under-17s, and bars under-16s from high-risk platforms (TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, X, Roblox, etc.); Indonesia is the second country after Australia to defer child platform access.
Komdigi routinely blocks 'negative content' (pornography, gambling, hate, disinformation) and unregistered services; recent examples include blocking Internet Archive/Wayback Machine (May 2025) and Wikimedia's login domain (Feb-Apr 2026) for non-registration.
Indonesia has previously imposed regional internet shutdowns (notably Papua/West Papua during 2019 unrest) to curb 'provocative' content; authorities retain broad powers to throttle or cut access, drawing criticism from rights groups.
Civil-society and international bodies (Access Now, Article 19, EFF, ICJ) argue MR5 and the ITE Law grant disproportionate, opaque takedown/blocking powers without judicial oversight or adequate appeals, risking arbitrary censorship and curtailing freedom of expression.
Machine-assisted translation · verified 5/23/2026 · orientation, not legal advice. English version →