ITB Tightens Social Media Ethics for Students Following Erika Song Controversy

Bandung (ANTARA) - Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) is tightening supervision of students’ ethics and social media literacy following the circulation of content from the Mining Students Association (HMT-ITB) featuring the song Erika, which has triggered public concern regarding alleged verbal sexual violence.

This measure is taken as the campus’s commitment to creating a dignified environment and preventing any actions that degrade human dignity in both digital and academic spaces.

“ITB views this incident as an important momentum to strengthen campus culture that upholds ethics, respect for human dignity, and prevention of all forms of violence, including verbal sexual violence,” said the Director of Communication and Public Relations at ITB, Dr. N Nurlaela Arief, in a statement in Bandung on Wednesday.

In response to the controversy, Nurlaela stated that HMT-ITB has openly issued an apology and acknowledged that the circulated content does not reflect academic values.

All related videos and audio have now been efforts made to take down from various official channels and affiliated accounts.

“Through strengthening ethics, character building, and an enhanced system for prevention and handling of violence, ITB strives to present an educational ecosystem that is not only academically excellent but also socially healthy,” Nurlaela said.

ITB is now expanding ethics campaigns through the Directorate of Joint Preparation (Ditsama), which covers social media literacy, ethics in short message communication, and guidelines for appearance on campus. Students are encouraged to be more critical and courteous in expressing opinions on social media without attacking others.

As a concrete step for protecting the academic community, ITB has also established the Task Force for Prevention and Handling of Violence (PPK) that covers all its campuses, namely in Ganesha, Jatinangor, Cirebon, and Jakarta.

This task force is responsible for providing consultation and reporting channels for campus members who experience or witness acts of violence. In addition, materials on Prevention and Handling of Sexual Violence (PPKS) are now mandatorily integrated into the training for new students to build awareness from an early stage.