Komdigi Lifts Block on Wikimedia Commons Website

The Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi) has reopened access to Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia Commons, often referred to as Commons or Wikicommons, is a centralised online repository that provides freely licensed media files (photos, images, videos, audio) that can be used for free by anyone. This site is quite important for storing and displaying media used on the Wikipedia website and other Wikimedia projects. The website, located at commons.wikimedia.org, was previously inaccessible in Indonesia. Based on KompasTekno’s monitoring, the site can now be accessed smoothly again. Previously, Wikimedia Commons was inaccessible in Indonesia. This was announced by the official account of the Indonesian Wikipedia community (@idwiki) on 25 March. “As of 25 March 2026, the Wikimedia Commons website (https://commons.wikimedia.org) has been blocked by Komdigi,” the account wrote. Komdigi has spoken out regarding this restriction. Alexander stated that the blocking was a result of the content control mechanism due to indications of gambling-related findings. “The inaccessibility of Wikimedia Commons stemmed from the system detecting keywords (wording) and visual content associated with similarities to prohibited content categories, particularly gambling, thus the system categorised Wikimedia Commons for handling,” said Alexander in an official statement on Komdigi’s official page. He added that this content control is preventive in nature. In certain conditions, he continued, the system can produce false positives against neutral sites with educational functions. “Once identified as a false positive, we immediately normalised Wikimedia Commons,” Alexander continued. Komdigi also conducted an audit of the system and internal technical coordination for the control team to ensure a comprehensive evaluation of the system and its mechanisms, in order to improve the accuracy of negative content detection. “This incident could have been prevented if Wikimedia had been included in the whitelist database, but since they have not completed the registration process as a PSE in the private scope in Indonesia, Wikimedia Commons has not been categorised in the whitelist in the blocking system,” said Alexander. He also urged Wikimedia to promptly complete the registration process until the PSE Registration Mark is issued as a form of compliance with Indonesian legal regulations. “We are committed to keeping Indonesia’s digital space safe from illegal content, and ensuring that every policy step is carried out proportionally, evidence-based, and prioritising the principle of prudence. Public trust is the primary concern in every effort we undertake,” he concluded.