Expert says special task force key to bridging coordination in eradicating online gambling

Jakarta - Cybersecurity expert Alfons Tanujaya has assessed that a special task force prepared by the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Kemkomdigi) with digital platform developer Meta and other digital platforms holds a key role in bridging inter-agency coordination to eradicate online gambling. According to Alfons, who is also the Second Deputy Chairman of the Cyber Security Aptiknas, combating online gambling requires the involvement of many parties, and therefore a clear coordination forum is needed so that efforts can be precisely targeted. With the formation of this special task force, Kemkomdigi, as the initiator, holds the role of coordinator. “The government needs to coordinate between agencies (apart from with digital platforms), especially between Kemkomdigi, the Financial Services Authority (OJK), the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK), and the police to identify and address this online gambling problem,” Alfons said when contacted on Saturday evening. He explained that the perpetrators expect large profits from something declared taboo by regulations established in Indonesia. Therefore, the existence of online gambling must be addressed and suppressed as much as possible so that it does not have a negative impact on society. “Because only they (the digital platforms) have the data and all the access data. Both the IP addresses of commentators and the commentator accounts are all within the platform’s system,” Alfons said. As for coordination with fellow government agencies, Kemkomdigi can facilitate coordination to close funding sources and even trace the business networks of these illegal practices. Previously, on Tuesday, the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs together with Meta, the technology company that oversees Instagram and Facebook, formed a team to prevent the spread of content containing online gambling, especially through comment spam on social media accounts. “We have agreed to form a joint team to address the problem of online gambling on platforms, particularly regarding the recent feedback we have received, which is spam in comments,” said Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs Meutya Hafid during a press conference in Jakarta on Tuesday. She stated that Kemkomdigi is not only involving Meta in efforts to handle comment spam containing online gambling content. Going forward, the government will also form joint teams collaborating with various other digital platforms.