The Indonesian government has blocked access to several online services, including Steam, Epic Games, PayPal and Yahoo, after the companies failed to comply with a new requirement related to the country’s restrictive content moderation laws, as previously reported was. Reuters,
According to the rules, companies deemed to be “private electronic systems providers” must register with the government’s database to operate in the country, or otherwise face a nationwide ban. Indonesia gave companies until July 27 to comply and has since banned those that have not.
The requirement is part of a broader legislation called MR5, which was first introduced in 2020. as noted Reuters, the laws give the Indonesian government the ability to obtain data about specific users, as well as force companies to “disrupt the public order” or remove content deemed illegal. The Platform has four hours or, in the case of any other content, 24 hours to process “immediate” removal requests.
A 2021 report by digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) called Indonesia’s laws “aggressive to human rights” because it places the platform at the mercy of the Indonesian government, which is not in compliance with local laws. will ban them. Earlier this month, the EFF wrote a letter to the Indonesian Ministry of Communications and Information (Kominfo), urging the government to repeal its “offensive content moderation rules”.
Quick update for askers-
Assuming the companies are registered and comply with the regulations, the blocks are not permanent, and Kominfo has already reached out to these companies to ensure compliance and reverse the block.
Here is a list of affected services: pic.twitter.com/6K121xVEMP
— Daniel Ahmed (@ZhugeEX) 30 July 2022
The ban has left users in Indonesia without the ability to process payments or even play certain games. as set forth Out by Daniel AhmedSome of the other popular games and services affected by the ban include Origin, a senior analyst at Niko Partners. Dota 2And counter attack. Meanwhile, Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, TikTok, Twitter, Netflix, and Spotify registered for licenses last week, and all are available.
According to ReutersSamuel Abrijani Pangerapan, General Director of Cominofo, said the country could give users access to PayPal for a short window during the ban. Pangerapan also said that the ban would be lifted once the companies register with the country’s database. It is unclear when these services will be back online, or whether they will be registered with Indonesian databases. PayPal, Epic Games and Valve did not immediately respond. ledgeComment request.