JAKARTA (Reuters) – None Alphabet Inc’s Google nor Twitter Inc had signed up in order to Indonesia’s new license rules as of midday Wednesday, ministry information showed, as a deadline day loomed that could discover their services briefly blocked in the country.
The registration is necessary under rules released in late 2020 that give authorities broad forces to compel platforms to disclose data associated with certain users and take down content deemed unlawful or that will “disturbs public order” within four hours if urgent, and 24 hours if not.
The communications ministry has said companies that not register prior to the deadline just before midnight on Wednesday will be reprimanded, fined, and then blocked – a decision that will be reversed after they register. While the ministry did not say when exactly the block might take effect, it really is unlikely to be instant.
As of midday Wednesday, Google and Twitter were not on a communications ministry list of foreign providers that have signed up to the new rules.
Search engines and Twitter did not immediately respond to demands for comment.
Meta Platforms Inc’s units Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp authorized on Tuesday, while other services like Spotify, Netflix, plus ByteDance’s TikTok also have signed up, according to the ministry’s records.
Having a young, tech-savvy inhabitants of 10 million, Indonesia is a top-10 market in terms of consumer numbers for a web host of social media businesses.
The government says the new rules have already been formulated to ensure web service providers protect customer data, and that on-line content is used in a “positive and productive” way.
It can also compel companies in order to reveal communications and personal data of specific users if asked for by law enforcement or even government agencies.
Two sources at large internet platforms mentioned they remain worried about the data and content implications of the legislation and the risk of government overreach.
The Alliance associated with Independent Journalists within Indonesia said a few provisions in the new rules were “very elastic” and open to abuse.
“The consequence could be that will news or content that reveals legal rights violations… or investigative reports could be considered unsettling… by particular parties, or even by government or law enforcement, ” the company said on Tweets.
(Additional reporting by Fanny Potkin in Singapore; Modifying by Kanupriya Kapoor)