Indonesia
Overview
Indonesia’s government views investment in information and communication technology as a key element of its economic development. The country maintains an Internet penetration rate of 15 percent and mobile penetration of 115 percent (many users have more than one subscription). E-government initiatives exist in the country, but research suggests online resources tend to be informational rather than transactional. Social network sites are extremely popular; the country houses the fourth largest Facebook user base and the fifth highest number of Twitter accounts. However, censorship remains an issue, as the government requires that ISPs filter the Internet for pornographic and blasphemous content. Several laws contain broad language, harsh jail sentences, and exorbitant fines for the creation or dissemination of such material.
Access
Internet penetration in Indonesia stands at 15 percent, and less than two percent of the population has a fixed broadband subscription. Given that the country geographically includes about 17,000 islands, its Internet infrastructure is decentralized and links to several international cables. Nevertheless, personal broadband connections remain prohibitively expensive for many. Mobile phone use is far more prevalent; a penetration rate of 115 percent indicates that some people have more than one phone. More than two-thirds of Indonesians use mobile phone to access the Internet, and more than half use cybercafés, also called warnets. Warnet operators must document who uses their facilities and submit that data to the Indonesia Security Incident Response team on Information Infrastructure.
Control
The Indonesian government has invested heavily in information and communication technology but remains sensitive to issues surrounding access to certain types of content. Several laws—criticized for overly broad language—control pornography and blasphemous content online. A 2008 Electronic Information and Transaction Law bans online defamation and imposes a penalty of up to six years in prison. The government also passed an anti-pornography law in 2008 and upheld it as constitutional in 2010, despite criticism that its vague definition may cover cultural performances and discrimination against women. After two celebrity sex videos emerged online in 2010, ISPs began running their traffic through the keyword filtering system TrustPositive and a list of approved and banned URLs. The list had more than 745,000 domain names and 54,000 URLs by mid-2012. In 2011, the government required Blackberry to filter pornographic content on its devices. On at least two instances, the government has ordered blocks on websites for anti-Islamic content. In 2008 ISPs blocked video-sharing websites to inhibit the spread of an anti-Islamic movie, and in 2010 ISPs blocked a Facebook group that promoted, “Everybody Draw Mohammad Day.” ">OpenNet Initiative testing in 2010 uncovered that while ISPs in Indonesia filter sites inconsistently, blocked sites include pornographic content, circumvention tools, and a smattering of political or religious content on blogs and social network sites.
Activity
Several Indonesian Internet users have faced penalties for online activities. One of the highest profile cases involved a mother who in 2009 complained on a mailing list about mistreatment at a hospital. The government arrested her under the Electronic Information and Transaction Law, and the hospital sued. She won both cases, but the government then found her guilty on appeal, setting what many called a dangerous precedent. In 2012, police arrested Alexander Aan and charged him with blasphemy after he created a Facebook page related to atheism. Still, use of social network sites has exploded in Indonesia; the country’s netizens are among the most active in the world. Indonesia had the fourth largest Facebook user base in July 2013. As of 2012, the country had the world’s fifth highest number of Twitter accounts, and Jakarta was the world’s most active city on Twitter.
Internet penetration in Indonesia stands at 15 percent, and less than two percent of the population has a fixed broadband subscription. Given that the country geographically includes about 17,000 islands, its Internet infrastructure is decentralized and links to several international cables. Nevertheless, personal broadband connections remain prohibitively expensive for many. Mobile phone use is far more prevalent; a penetration rate of 115 percent indicates that some people have more than one phone. More than two-thirds of Indonesians use mobile phone to access the Internet, and more than half use cybercafés, also called warnets. Warnet operators must document who uses their facilities and submit that data to the Indonesia Security Incident Response team on Information Infrastructure.
The Indonesian government has invested heavily in information and communication technology but remains sensitive to issues surrounding access to certain types of content. Several laws—criticized for overly broad language—control pornography and blasphemous content online. A 2008 Electronic Information and Transaction Law bans online defamation and imposes a penalty of up to six years in prison. The government also passed an anti-pornography law in 2008 and upheld it as constitutional in 2010, despite criticism that its vague definition may cover cultural performances and discrimination against women. After two celebrity sex videos emerged online in 2010, ISPs began running their traffic through the keyword filtering system TrustPositive and a list of approved and banned URLs. The list had more than 745,000 domain names and 54,000 URLs by mid-2012. In 2011, the government required Blackberry to filter pornographic content on its devices. On at least two instances, the government has ordered blocks on websites for anti-Islamic content. In 2008 ISPs blocked video-sharing websites to inhibit the spread of an anti-Islamic movie, and in 2010 ISPs blocked a Facebook group that promoted, “Everybody Draw Mohammad Day.” ">OpenNet Initiative testing in 2010 uncovered that while ISPs in Indonesia filter sites inconsistently, blocked sites include pornographic content, circumvention tools, and a smattering of political or religious content on blogs and social network sites.
Several Indonesian Internet users have faced penalties for online activities. One of the highest profile cases involved a mother who in 2009 complained on a mailing list about mistreatment at a hospital. The government arrested her under the Electronic Information and Transaction Law, and the hospital sued. She won both cases, but the government then found her guilty on appeal, setting what many called a dangerous precedent. In 2012, police arrested Alexander Aan and charged him with blasphemy after he created a Facebook page related to atheism. Still, use of social network sites has exploded in Indonesia; the country’s netizens are among the most active in the world. Indonesia had the fourth largest Facebook user base in July 2013. As of 2012, the country had the world’s fifth highest number of Twitter accounts, and Jakarta was the world’s most active city on Twitter.