[dropcap]I[/dropcap]ndonesia has warned Google and Twitter, world’s largest social-media providers to block pornographic content in its country of face the blockage.
Twitter Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and a host of companies have been put on notice by Indonesian Communications Minister Rudiantara, who threatened “all platforms” that if they don’t adhere to government requests to block content, they will be blocked permanently!
“The worst case is I will not allow them to be in Indonesia,” Rudiantara, who uses one name, said in an interview on Thursday. “We are focusing on content. If you violate content then you are violating rules and laws in Indonesia.”
Indonesia’s 260 million population, with world’s largest Muslim population has grown concerns about the spread of pornography, child abuse and terrorism through these platforms. Due to same concerns, and their failed attempt to block such content, they have been banned in China.
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Indonesia had also earlier threatened to block Facebook’s WhatsApp messenger due to its message encryption, which prevented it from monitoring the third-party providers Indonesians use to search for GIFs. Due to this it saw a huge outburst from its citizens, and then finally decided not to block it after agreements to filter such images and videos.
Samuel Abrijani, Director-General for Application and Informatics at the Communications Ministry, said executives from Google and Twitter would be summoned for meetings with government officials to discuss what action they would take to monitor content
Amid the crackdown on social media platforms, President Joko Widodo has also ordered the development of the nation’s digital economy as a priority. The digital economy may be worth $130 billion by 2020, Rudiantara said.
“I want to sell Indonesia. I want to make Indonesia more competitive across the international landscape, so I need people like Jack Ma,” Rudiantara said. He wants the billionaire businessman to be “a guru for the development of human capital, not only to support Indonesia but to support the region.”
(With inputs from Bloomberg)