The requirement is part of the MR5 statute, which was first implemented in 2020. The regulations allow the Indonesian government to gather data on particular users and compel corporations to remove information that “disturbs public order” or is prohibited. Platforms have four hours to respond to “urgent” removal requests or 24 hours for any other material.
According to a 2021 study from the digital rights organization Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Indonesia’s rules are “intrusive of human rights,” since they place platforms at the whim of the Indonesian government, which will prohibit them if they do not comply with local laws. The EFF wrote to the Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Information (Kominfo) earlier this month, pushing the government to remove its “intrusive content control policies.”
