The Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Information Technology is a ministry of the government that is responsible for communication, information affairs and internet censorship.
And this time, ministry has required all major digital platforms, or what they call electronic system providers (PSE) within the private environment, to register themselves with the government.
According to the ministry's director general for applications and informatics Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, those that don't register face sanctions that are imposed on stages before being shut down. The sanctions include warning, administrative, and then blocking.
Back in July 20, 2022, tech companies like Google, Meta and its properties that include Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus, Twitter and more, weren't registered yet.
Because many others weren't also registered yet, even after the government has informed them, the ministry is extended the deadline to July 27.
"If they fail to register until 11:59 p.m. today, I need to apologize to the communities because their services won’t be temporarily available nor accessible in Indonesia," later explained Semuel on July 26.
However, despite the strict rules, Semuel underlined that access to those websites and services shall be reopened if they complete the registration process.
"So it depends on them. Once they register, we will lift the suspension," he added.
"We also help PSE who deals with problems by providing guidelines and assistants," said Semuel said.
The official said that major platforms like Google and Alibaba have completed the registration.
Before midnight, Google, Meta and Twitter have registered themselves in accordance with the existing regulations, and so did Alibaba and its properties.
But others like Yahoo!, and Amazon, have not.
Other major services that weren't registered, also include Bing, Dota, Steam, CS Go, Epic Games, Battle.net, and Origin and many more.
In total, Semuel said that there are around 9,000 tech companies that have registered their platforms with the government while 55 others are under investigation for allegedly providing false information during the application procedures.
The ministry stated that the mandatory registration is one of the government’s efforts to protect the public as consumers of private PSE and safeguard Indonesia's digital space.
It said that the re-registration of PSEs is mandated through Government Regulation No. 71 of 2019 on the implementation of electronic systems and transactions and Kominfo Ministry's Regulation No. 5 of 2020 on PSE and private spaces.
The registration is required under rules released in late November 2020, and that it is giving the Indonesian authorities the rights to force platforms to disclose data of certain users, and take down content deemed unlawful or that "disturbs public order" within four hours if urgent and 24 hours if not.
While the decision is said for a good cause, and is done to protect netizens of Indonesia, the move has received controversies and numerous backlash.
For example, it is said that there are vague articles in the ministry's regulation that have the potential to violate the public's right to access information.
Then, the law is like suggesting that the government isn't supporting youths who compete in online games, like Esports, which has been a major competition with others abroad. And since some payment platforms, like PayPal, were blocked, the ministry is like preventing some people from earning the income they deserve.
As a result of this, hashtags like #BlokirKominfo (block Communication Ministry) and some others became trending topics on Twitter. Johnny G. Plate, the Minister of Communication and Information Technology, also became a trending topic.
What's more, the PSE Kominfo page, where PSEs can register themselves, has become the target of various hackers. Some even managed to spam the entries.
Indonesia is a vast archipelago country with a population of more than 270 million people. With an estimated 191 million internet users who are mostly young and social-media savvy, the Southeast Asian nation is a significant market for a host of tech platforms.
According to Samuel, the law is required because the government is supporting them, and wants to protect them.
The thing is, the government cannot tolerate those who are earning money from Indonesia, but don't abide to its laws.
