Asia turned out to be the region that blocked social media the most . This is revealed from the data submitted by Surfshark. According to their data, as many as 12 countries are currently blocking social media in Asia. How about Indonesia?
Social media is an inseparable part of human life today. People interact and search for news also through social media.
However, several countries in the world prohibit their citizens from using social media.
They reasoned because they wanted to keep the population away from negative issues about politics, suppressing protests, and business issues.
According to Surfshark data, Asia is the region with the most social media blocking countries. 12 countries block social media at this time.
Meanwhile, 28 countries have blocked social media in the past. The African region follows with two countries blocking social media at the moment. A total of 26 countries in the Dark Continent have also blocked social media in the past.
Then, as many as two countries in Europe are currently blocking social media. As many as four countries on the continent have also blocked social media in the past.
As many as one countries in North America and three countries in South America have blocked social media in the past. While the Oceania region is reported to have no countries that block social media either at present or in the past.
Previously, the Private Scope Electronic System Operator Registration (PSE) at the Ministry of Communication and Information (Kominfo) was in the spotlight of various parties, including foreign media.
In these rules, there are threats of administrative sanctions to blocking platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Google, et al., if you don’t register immediately.
The foreign media that highlighted the Kominfo PSE policy was Reuters by published an article entitled Meta units agree to Indonesia tech licensing rules amid blocking threats some time ago.
Reuters wrote that the policy “forces” platforms to disclose user data and must be willing to remove content deemed unlawful, such as “violating public order”.
Another foreign media that also reported about the PSE Kominfo is Bloomberg. This media said that Google was the last company to register on the PSE Kominfo page, following streaming service companies Netflix, Spotify, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok which had already registered.
But actually, Google’s name listed on the PSE Kominfo website is in the domestic PSE category and is registered by a local company, not registered by Google Indonesia itself.
Bloomberg also refers to the explanation of several rules that all foreign PSEs in Indonesia must comply with. For example, you must be willing to remove content that has the potential to “incite” or “disturb public order”, such as child pornography or anything that smells of “terrorism”.