Tom Allard, Jakarta – Millions of Indonesian owners of BlackBerry smartphones will have access to pornographic material severely limited after the manufacturer of the phones agreed to government demands to filter the content.
The filter, installed at the internet service providers that support the phone, is believed to be a world first for BlackBerry and comes as Indonesian authorities grapple with an explosion in the availability of sexually explicit material, much of it shared on mobile phones.
It is part of a broader clampdown on pornography in Indonesia, which has the world's largest Muslim population but is secular and has been long known for its moderate interpretation of the religion.
The government says the efforts to stifle pornography are desperately needed to protect the country's youth but critics deride it as arbitrary, highly politicised and a worrying indication of the growing influence of conservative Islamists.
They point to a two-year prison term handed down last year to the editor of the local edition of Playboy magazine, a toned-down version of the periodical which featured relatively modest photos of women in lingerie. Meanwhile, the pop singer Nazril Irhan, better known as Ariel, is before the courts and could face a long prison term after homemade videos of his love-making with two female celebrities were stolen from his laptop, posted online and widely distributed via smartphones.
Leading the anti-pornography push is the conservative Communication Minister, Tifatul Sembiring, a senior figure in the Islamist Prosperous Justice Party. "Tifatul Sembiring thanks God that the pornography content filtering process carried out by RIM on its BlackBerry service has started successfully," a press release on the ministry's website said on Thursday.
The scandal surrounding the public airing of Mr Nazril's videos prompted the crackdown on BlackBerry, the most popular smartphone in Indonesia. The company failed to meet a deadline last August to introduce the filters but threats from Mr Sembiring to ban their sale in the lucrative Indonesian market forced a rethink by Research In Motion, the Canadian company that manufactures the devices.
"RIM looks forward to continuing our investments in the Indonesian marketplace and to continue supporting the needs of our customers, developers and distribution partners," the company said.
Even so, a spokesman for Mr Sembiring agreed the filter would not prevent BlackBerry users accessing all types of pornography. "Technically, it cannot filter all porn sites otherwise it will disturb the internet service altogether," the spokesman, Gatot Dewa Broto, said.
BlackBerry owners will still be able to share pornographic photos and videos via email and through social networks. Indonesians are the second biggest users of Facebook in the world, with more than 32 million members. Twitter is also immensely popular.
The prominent Indonesian feminist and author Julia Suryakusuma described the pornography crackdown as "moral panic" and a "policy of distraction" at a time when there is seething public anger about entrenched corruption.
"How can you regulate or legislate against desire?" she asked. "Tifatul is one of those people in the government who is making a mockery of governance in Indonesia."
Mr Sembring attracted media attention last year when he was upset at shaking Michelle Obama's hand.