Ismira Lutfia & Febriamy Hutapea – Local Web site managers have joined the chorus of objections to the Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Information Technology's draft regulation to create a team to monitor online content, saying it would hamper the development of local Internet service providers.
Andrew Darwis, the founder of a local online forum called Kaskus, told the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday that he was surprised the ministry was drafting such a regulation, which he believed was "contrary to the ministry's encouragement to develop local content."
Andrew said the draft gave the impression that the ministry was "trying to shift the blame to the Web managers" for any content determined to be illegal.
"It is counterproductive to the ministry's efforts in supporting the development of local Web content," Andrew said, adding that he and his online community would deliver their feedback to the ministry.
Satya Witoelar, the chief creative officer of Koprol.com, a local micro-blogging site similar to Twitter, also said the proposed regulation was "a threat to locally based Web sites, which have become a tool for instant and real-time interactions online."
Ministry spokesman Gatot Dewa Broto said on Monday that the planned 30-member Multimedia Content Team would act on public complaints of so-called disturbing content, and would order Internet service providers to block sites that it felt were displaying material banned under Indonesian law.
He pointed out that the draft of the regulation remained open for public comment and debate until Friday.
A recent spate of crimes targeting teenagers in using social networking sites has raised questions over the need for better monitoring of Web sites.
However, Andrew said that it would be impossible for Kaskus moderators to control the content of every posting in the forum, which has 1.4 million registered users to date.
"We have 30 posts every second and we would not have the manpower to filter them all the time," he said, adding that he hoped the ministry would invite local Web site managers to discuss the formulation of the draft.
Andrew added that the proposal would affect local sites more than the foreign ones. "What if the illegal content comes from foreign-based Web sites such as Twitter and Facebook?" Satya said. "Will the government take action to ban them?"
Satya said the draft regulation was "ironic," comparing the situation to that in Singapore where freedom of expression is tightly controlled but the government still encourages citizens to develop local Web sites.
Agustinus Edy Kristianto, the chief editor of Indonesian political and legal news site Primair Online told the Globe that the proposed draft "seems to be similar to the Internet policies in China that could threaten the development of a Web-based creative industry."
He said the draft should have a "clear philosophical background" to justify it. "Was it drafted to protect children from accessing disturbing content? The objective must be clear," Agustinus said.
He added that the ministry must work with the private sector and human rights, media, freedom of information and child protection activists to ensure that the regulation will accommodate their perspectives.
"And it should also avoid using ambiguous wordings that are liable for multi interpretation since this will be a ministerial regulation that deals with the technicalities in its field," he said.
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) also rejected the draft regulation, which it regards as an effort to control the content of media and information in an authoritarian style. PDI-P chairman Tjahjo Kumolo said it violated the 1999 Press Law, which guarantees media freedoms and protection of the establishment of media.