Observer: Handling online gambling requires involvement of all platforms in Indonesia

Telecommunications observer Heru Sutadi believes that the cooperation between the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Kemkomdigi) and Meta in eradicating online gambling can be developed into a national collaboration involving all digital platforms operating in Indonesia. According to Heru, the challenges in the digital space are currently more complex, requiring broader coordination between the government and digital platform providers. “I think this should become a model for national cooperation. The government should not only cooperate with Meta, but also with all digital platforms operating in Indonesia, such as TikTok, Google, YouTube, Telegram, X, and instant messaging platforms,” Heru told ANTARA on Sunday. With the direct involvement of platforms, the handling of content and accounts containing online gambling is expected to be carried out more quickly before reaching more users. The Executive Director of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Institute also assessed that government cooperation with digital platforms should not be limited to eradicating online gambling, but expanded to address various forms of crime in the digital space. According to him, there are still many fraud cases utilising digital platforms, ranging from fake seller accounts to various cybercrime modes that harm the public. Therefore, Heru proposed the formation of a permanent forum or task force that brings together the government and various digital platforms periodically to discuss and respond to threats in the digital space, including online gambling. He added that a comprehensive and sustainable coordination mechanism would make the response to various digital threats more coordinated and effective. “Because of that, the response must also be coordinated, fast, and cross-platform,” Heru said. Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs Meutya Hafid stated, “We have agreed to form a joint team to address online gambling issues on platforms, especially regarding the recent feedback we have received, namely spam in comments.” She stated that Kemkomdigi is not only involving Meta in efforts to handle spam comments containing online gambling content. Going forward, the government will also form a joint team involving various other digital platforms.