Minister Rudiantara: Facebook Must Comply with Terms of Business in Indonesia
Minister Rudiantara meets with Representatives of Facebook Asia Pacific at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Jakarta, Wednesday (2/8).
After receiving Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, Minister of Communications and Informatics Rudiantara conducted a series of meetings with Facebook Representatives at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Jakarta, led by Asia Pacific Facebook Representative Jeff Wu. The meeting discussed several key points related to the dissemination of the Classification of Indonesia’s Industrial Business Standard (KBLI) in digital sector, the handling of terrorism issues, radicalization and hoaxes, and the development of the over-the-top (OTT) industry in Indonesia.
During the meeting, the Ministry submitted a new policy related to the KBLI. To that end, Facebook was asked to make adjustments to the KBLI which has been used as the basis of Facebook operations in Indonesia.
In order to provide services in Indonesia, Facebook holds a principle permit categorized as consulting management, whereas in practice, Facebook activity is a classification of commercial-based business platforms. “We want Facebook to express its commitment to adjust to the new KBLI provisions,” Rudiantara said, Wednesday (02/08/2017).
In accordance with Regulation of the Head of Central Statistics Agency Number 19 of 2017 on the KBLI, Digital Platform Organizer constitutes the result of adjustment to items contained in the 47919 KBLI, in which e-retail remains the authority of the Ministry of Trade. Meanwhile, the organization of digital platform in the form of platform-based market place, daily deals, price grabber, or online classifieds becomes the authority of the Ministry of Communications and Informatics in the 63122 KBLI: Web Portals and/or Commercial-oriented Platform.
In addition, the Ministry of Communications and Informatics currently has formulated a draft Ministerial Regulation regarding the OTT which deals with the regulation on the services of the provision of funds or content application through internet which will soon be imposed by the Ministry. It is expected that the draft Ministerial Regulation regarding the OTT can provide understanding to service and telecommunication providers.
Geoblocking, Facebooks Controller Features of Negative Content
The meeting with Facebook representatives is a series of coordination between the Ministry of Communications and Informatics and the Global Social Media Service Providers in the mechanism of handling a faster and more thoroughly content. This meeting is not the first, but it is an ongoing meeting to jointly gain common understanding in handling negative internet content. This was enunciated by the Director General of Informatics Applications Semuel A. Pangerapan in a press conference at the Multipurpose Room of the Ministry of Communications and Informatics, Wednesday (2/8).
Semuel said that Facebook introduces a new Geoblocking feature that can control negative content that is adjusted with the terms in a particular country. “There is a special content that is not accessible in Indonesia with this Geoblocking feature. To that end, Facebook will also create an algorithm for Indonesia,” Semuel added.
Earlier, in the meeting this morning, Jeff Wu asserted that Facebook will make improvements in the mechanisms of handling negative content in Indonesia, among others, by appointing its Indonesian employees based in Jakarta to accelerate the handling of negative content on their platforms.
Semuel added that we are currently very intensive to handle content which promotes radicalism and terrorism. So, we invite all social media application providers. We continue to strengthen coordination to obtain more responsive handling. Social media providers need to get updates from the Ministry of Communications and Informatics to be emphasized responsive handling on the side of social media service providers. This time, we meet with Facebook.
In the course of 2016 to early July 2017, there were 402 negative content reports covering pornography, child pornography, radicalism, terrorism, fake accounts, fraud, hoax news and hate speech. However, as a follow-up to the report, only 50.7 percent of which was responded by Facebook. This is due to the difference in understanding between Facebook and the Indonesian Government related to negative content.
To that end, the Ministry of Communications and Informatics urged Facebook to play a more active role in reducing negative content and hopes to have a team of supervisors to more quickly recognize the findings of negative content in Indonesia. In addition, it needs intense cooperation between the Indonesian Government and Facebook in handling the hoax. “Handling hoax is contextual, because it requires parties who can determine it hoax or not quickly. All we can do is, with an integrated team, to monitor and provide input in determining the negative content in Indonesia,” Semuel concluded. (Public Relations Bureau, Ministry of Communications and Informatics/ES/EN) (MUR/YM/Naster).
