Gov’t Ends Limitations on Social Media, Messaging Services

Ministry of Communication and Informatics on Saturday (25/5) ended the limitation of the use of social media and messaging apps.

The move came after the Government assessed that security in the capital city of Jakarta has improved, following post-elections riots in Jakarta on Wednesday (22/5) evening, according to press release of Minister of Communication and Informatics Rudiantara.

“Social media platforms and messaging apps have now returned to normal. Let’s use cyberspace for positive things. Happy weekend,” reads Ministry of Communication and Informatics’ official Twitter account, @kemkominfo

Rudiantara also called on Indonesian netizens to fight against hoaxes, hate speech, and provocation. “Let’s fight against fake news, slanderous and provoking information circulating just like the ones circulated during the riots,” he said.

The Ministry also encourages the public to report social media misuse to aduankonten.id or Twitter account @aduancontent should they identify any website or social media that contains violence or riots in Jakarta. It also appealed to users of cellular phones or other gadgets to immediately uninstall virtual private networks (VPNs) to avoid the risks of monitoring, collecting and piracy of their personal data.

Earlier on Wednesday (22/5), the Government announced temporary and gradual access limitations on social media platforms and instant messages to limit the spread of hoaxes in response to post-elections rally.

According to Rudiantara, the temporary limitation is aimed at limiting the spread or viral information on hoaxes. “Limitations are made to features of social media platform and messaging services. Not all social media platforms are restricted and the restriction is temporary and gradual,” he said. (Minister of Communication and Informatics PR/ES)

Translated by: Muhardi

Edited by: M. Ersan Pamungkas