Impending news regulation could jeopardize the future of news media in Indonesia
By Michaela Browning
VP, Government Affairs and Public Policy, Google APAC
Versi Bahasa Inggris:
We share the belief of many policymakers that a vibrant journalism industry is important and are committed to doing our part to support a sustainable, independent and diverse news ecosystem.
As we have communicated to the Government, we are concerned that the latest draft of a News regulation in Indonesia, if implemented without change, would be unworkable. Instead of promoting quality journalism, it could restrict public access to diverse sources of news by giving powers to a single, non-government body to decide what content is allowed to appear online and which publishers are allowed to earn revenue from advertising.
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Google’s mission is to make information universally accessible and useful. If signed in its current form, the news regulation in Indonesia could directly impact our ability to provide Indonesians who use our products with relevant, authoritative, diverse sources of information online.
This could also undo the work we have done and the work we hope to do to support the news industry in Indonesia. We would have to reassess the viability of continuing with our programs and how our news products operate in Indonesia.
Since the draft regulation was first proposed in 2021, Google and YouTube have engaged with the government, regulators, industry bodies and press associations to advise on the regulation’s technical workability and to sharpen it in a way that works for publishers, platforms and the public.
We appreciate the opportunities we have had to engage with the government, including during the harmonization process. But the proposed regulation as drafted would still negatively impact the broader digital news ecosystem.
We believe it’s important that our users, creators and publishing partners are aware that if the proposal passes as is, the News Regulation will impact Indonesians by: