WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Flooded with Scammers as Minister Conducts Surprise Inspection of Meta Indonesia Office

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – In a surprise inspection conducted by the Ministry of Communications and Digital (Komdigi) at Meta Indonesia’s representative office on Wednesday, 4 March 2026, several issues were highlighted. One area concerns digital crime that is rife on the platform run by the technology giant. Komdigi Minister Meutya Hafid, who attended the inspection, explained that fraud in the digital realm is among the issues most frequently reported. ‘Disinformation, second only to physical crime, is digital crime, including scams and other digital frauds, which are among the most reported cases,’ Meutya said after the inspection. She explained that these frauds harm not only middle-class people but those at the very bottom. In other words, they target those whose lives are already difficult. ‘And this harms not only intermediates but at the bottom level. So imagine fraud also targeting those whose lives are already hard, and there are quite a lot of contents related to digital scamming,’ she added. In addition, the inspection also highlighted health disinformation and government-related content. Meutya said disinformation is a global problem and one of the greatest threats in the world today, and she assured that the government would not stand idly by. With a large digital market and 230 million internet users, she said she hopes many parties can exercise oversight, so the digital sphere can be safer and protect the public. During the visit, the Ministry asked for several measures, including openness of algorithms, content moderation, and reporting of other items. Regarding the reason for the inspection, Meutya explained that the ministry had pursued various channels to communicate. It was only after these efforts, including formal and persuasive approaches, that a surprise inspection was chosen because many compliance requirements remained unfulfilled by Meta. ‘We carried this out after government attempts to engage with Meta, formally and persuasively, and only then did we proceed with a surprise inspection because many compliance obligations had not been met,’ she said. (dem/dem)