Yogyakarta – The Communications and Information Ministry has blocked 70 websites with content linked to terrorism, including the Islamic State (IS) organization.

"Most of the sites were in the form of blogs, not registered websites," said Communications and Information Minister Rudiantara on Tuesday.

He said the ministry had problems blocking social media accounts that shared similar content. "Social media is open. We can't [block these sites] unless there are reports from the public," he said.

According to the minister, the challenge in finding terror websites was using the right keywords, as the sites sometimes used names that were unrelated to radicalism or terrorism.

Given the apparent rising influence of IS in the country, the ministry has started to crackdown on websites containing IS teachings and terrorism.It has also prepared a panel consisting of religious leaders to verify whether a website contains dangerous content.

The panel consists of Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Din Syamsuddin, Nahdlatul Ulama leader Sholahudin Wahid and Catholic priest Benny Susetya.

"The panel is helping to verify whether a website supports radicalism," said Rudiantara during an event in Yogyakarta.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/03/25/national-scene-govt-blocks-70-terror-websites.html