APSN Banner

Platform X avoids ban in Indonesia after clarifying pornography policies

Source
Jakarta Globe - June 27, 2024

Antara, Jakarta – Indonesia will not block social media platform X (formerly Twitter) because it is not violating the country's pornography law.

Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, Director General of Informatics Applications at the Communication and Information Technology Ministry, stated that the platform's administrators have clarified their policies on pornographic content and complied with the ministry's request to adhere to government regulations.

"If there are no violations, why should I block it? There has to be a reason," Semuel said in Jakarta on Thursday.

According to Semuel, the administrators of platform X explained that there was a misunderstanding regarding their policy on pornographic content.

He noted that the ministry has reviewed the platform's compliance with government regulations and found that they have removed content deemed to violate Indonesia's laws.

Semuel said that the ministry will not block or impose fines on platform X as long as they comply with the country's regulations.

He also highlighted the importance of all parties reading and understanding the platform's policy clauses concerning pornographic content. "The content is not displayed, cannot be seen clearly, and is labeled," he said.

Previously, Communication and Information Technology Minister Budi Arie Setiadi had warned X to comply with Indonesian government regulations regarding pornographic content.

X says it will now formally allow people to show consensual adult content, as long as it is clearly labeled as such. The move made official a policy already in place when the platform was known as Twitter, before billionaire Elon Musk purchased it in 2022.

In a recent update on its website, the San Francisco-based company said users "should be able to create, distribute, and consume material related to sexual themes as long as it is consensually produced and distributed. Sexual expression, whether visual or written, can be a legitimate form of artistic expression."

Adult material was allowed under the pre-Musk Twitter as well, although there was no official policy in place. X said it is restricting adult content for children and for adult users who choose not to see it.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/tech/platform-x-avoids-ban-in-indonesia-after-clarifying-pornography-policie

Country