Kemkomdigi conducts spot check at Meta's offices to seek digital platform compliance
Jakarta — The Ministry of Communications and Digital (Kemkomdigi), together with several government agencies, conducted a surprise inspection of Meta’s offices in South Jakarta on Wednesday to seek commitments to digital platform compliance with Indonesian law.
Meutya Hafid, the Minister of Communications and Digital, said after the inspection: “This afternoon we carried out a spot check at Meta’s offices. This is a follow-up to Article 40 of the Information and Electronic Transactions Act, which states that the government is tasked with protecting safety and the public interest from all kinds of disruption caused by misinformation and disinformation,” she said after the inspection.
Meutya explained that the spot check was carried out after the government had previously engaged with Meta both formally and persuasively. Because compliance had not yet been achieved, Kemkomdigi ultimately visited the offices managing Facebook and Instagram directly.
“Ultimately we had to conduct the spot check because many compliance obligations have not been implemented. We know disinformation is not only a problem in Indonesia, but global,” Meutya said.
During the spot check, Kemkomdigi asked Meta to be open about its algorithms and content moderation. Meta was also asked to meet reporting obligations in accordance with applicable provisions.
The United Nations and the World Economic Forum have described disinformation as one of the world’s greatest threats today. Therefore, Meutya stressed that the government will not stand by in the face of disinformation.
“We have received many complaints and inputs from doctors and others involved in the health sector regarding misinformation leading to the loss of lives of children and members of the public,” she said.
Digital crimes such as scamming and other digital fraud are widespread on digital platforms. According to Meutya, digital fraud does not only target the middle class, but also those in the lower economic brackets.
The next common disinformation content relates to government and development. Meutya explained that this disinformation is aimed at driving a wedge between the government and the public or among members of the public themselves.
This is dangerous because it can cause polarisation that ends in one group hating another.
“So this is not just Kemkomdigi, but a message from the entire Indonesian government that Meta, as an industry based here and benefiting from the industry conducted in Indonesia, must comply with the laws in force in Indonesia,” she concluded.