Communication Ministry, Social Media Platforms Eradicate Contents With Hate Speeches

Minister of Communication and Informatics Rudiantara accompanied by representatives of social media platform providers responds to reporters’ questions at the Ministry’s office, Jakarta, on Tuesday (15/5)

In a bid to intensify the blocking of contents with hate speech that can threaten the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, Minister of Communication and Informatics Rudiantara met with representatives of online platform providers (social media, messenger, chatting apps).

The meeting – attended by the representative of Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Telegram – was conducted at the office of Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Jakarta, on Tuesday (15/5).

Rudiantara asserted that the Indonesian Government will not hesitate to delete all contents considered to have the potential to threaten the unity of Indonesia. “We take this problem seriously because it is concerning the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. The Government takes firm action. There will be no compromise for contents related to radicalism and terrorism that will threaten the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.

The Minister also called on the public to remain calm because his ministry cooperates not only with the social media platform providers, but also with the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) and Indonesian Police (Polri) to prevent the further spread of terrorism and radicalism. “We urge the public to remain calm. There is no reason to panic because the BNPT and Polri have already taken actions both in virtual world and the real world,” Rudiantara explained.

Based on the latest update, social media platform providers have taken down hundreds contents, including 287 contents taken down by Telegram, 300 contents out of 450 complaints taken down by Facebook and Instagram, 40 percent of 250 complaints taken down by Youtube, and 50 percent of 60-70 complaints taken down by Twitter.

“We are still monitoring the rest. Cooperation with Facebook, Google, Youtube, Twitter, and Telegram really helps. Given radicalism and terrorism contents are our common enemy, we hope the cooperation will be enhanced in the future,” Rudiantara added.

In the meantime, Public Policy Lead of Facebook Indonesia Ruben Hattari on that occasion said that Facebook does not allow violent contents. He added that Facebook is a platform that provides no room for violence. According to Facebook standard, we will take down content considered violating the standard, he added.

Youtube also affirms its commitment to delete all violent contents. “We also cooperate with Government and the public to delete contents that lead to violence and hatred,” Relations and Support for Infrastructure of Google Indonesia Danny Ardianto said, adding that Youtube also has strong policies that do not allow such contents. “I also appreciate the Government and public for their good cooperation,” he added.

Also on that occasion, Rudiantara explained that out of the thousands of accounts that have been confirmed containing content of radicalism and terrorism, there are some that have not yet been taken down in order to help law enforcement officers tracing radicalism and terrorism network.

“This is for the purpose of investigation. We always cooperate with law enforcers, both Polri and the BNPT. They not only investigate the account or content, but also discover the network, and ensure that the person is arrested by the Police, BNPT, or Densus (counter-terrorism squad),” Rudiantara concluded.  (Ministry of Communication and Information Technology PR/ES) (RAS/EP/Naster)