Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs Explains Cause of Indonesian Wikipedia Access Restrictions
Indonesia’s online encyclopaedia Wikipedia Indonesia announced that user access to the website has been unavailable since Wednesday, 25 February. The Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Kemkomdigi) has responded as the party implementing the restriction.
Kemkomdigi explained that the restriction on access to the login feature on the subdomain auth.wikimedia.org was implemented from 25 February 2026. This was because the Wikimedia Foundation had not fulfilled its obligation to register as a Private Scope Electronic System Operator (PSE).
Director General of Digital Space Oversight Alexander Sabar affirmed that this measure does not block all Wikimedia services.
“Access to the main wikimedia.org page and all information content remains available. The restriction only applies to authentication features, so users cannot log in or create new accounts,” he stated in an official statement on Friday, 27 February.
Under this policy, the public can still read and utilise all information available on Wikimedia.
During the restriction period, activities requiring user accounts such as editing or creating new articles cannot temporarily be carried out.
The obligation to register as a Private Scope PSE is governed by the Regulation of the Minister of Communication and Informatics Number 5 of 2020. This regulation requires every electronic system operator, both domestic and foreign, whose services are available and/or used within Indonesian jurisdiction, to register.
According to Alexander, formal notification was sent to Wikimedia from November 2025, with two deadline extensions until 20 January 2026.
Until the restriction was implemented on 25 February 2026, the registration obligation had not been met.
“PSE registration is a governance instrument to ensure legal certainty and accountability of digital service operators operating in Indonesia,” Alexander explained.
Alexander stated that normalisation of access can occur after Wikimedia submits its commitment and completes the registration process in accordance with applicable regulations.
Information on registration procedures is available through the official page at https://pse.komdigi.go.id
Alexander affirmed that this policy represents enforcement of administrative obligations applicable to all electronic system operators without distinguishing legal entity form, business model, or non-profit status.
Kemkomdigi will continue to conduct professional and proportional oversight to maintain legal certainty and protection of the public in Indonesia’s digital ecosystem.
The access restriction prevents Wikipedia account holders from logging into the website to edit or add new articles.
“Since 25 February 2026 at 08:00 UTC (15:00 WIB), access to the domain auth.wikimedia.org has been restricted,” wrote the @idwiki account belonging to Indonesian-language Wikipedia on X on Friday, 27 February.
In its statement, it was noted that the domain is used for user authentication across all Wikimedia Project websites, one of which is Wikipedia.
“Because of this incident, users cannot log in to the website,” the account explained.
This was responded to by the Koalisi Damai, requesting the government to open access to Indonesian Wikipedia. Although the Wikipedia main page is still accessible, the login feature for editors cannot be used.
“Search results show that the domain auth.wikimedia.org has been blocked by the government through the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi), as listed in the Trust Positif system (trustpositif.komdigi.go.id),” explained Koalisi Damai, citing Safenet.id on Thursday, 26 February.
For information, members of Koalisi Damai consist of various parties, some of which include the Association of Independent Journalists (AJI Indonesia), AMSI, CSIS Indonesia, Gusdurian Network, Wikimedia Indonesia, and others.