Wikipedia Editors Say Blocking Hampers Local Knowledge
Agusti Syahara, a blogger and Wikipedia editor from Pontianak, says he feels disadvantaged by the government policy to block login access to Wikipedia. The Wikipedian says the measure hampers information dissemination and deprives the public of opportunities to participate in building open knowledge. ‘Society loses the chance to participate in building open knowledge,’ he told reporters on Friday, 6 March 2026.
The government blocked login access to the auth.wikimedia.org subdomain from 25 February 2026. This is because the Wikimedia Foundation has not fulfilled its obligation to register as a Privately Scoped Electronic System Operator (PSE Lingkup Privat).
Agusti, who is also a member of the Wikimedia Pontianak Community, says the block prevents Wikipedians from editing or updating information. He notes that there is a great deal of content about education, health, and local culture that the public needs.
Agusti began writing and editing on Wikipedia in 2022. He initially was only a reader. Over time, he learned that anyone could write an article and become an editor, but writing articles must follow strict guidelines and supervision ‘to ensure the information remains accurate and neutral.’
According to Agusti, the editing process is structured. It begins with identifying articles that require corrections or additions, then ensuring the information is supported by reliable sources. After that, Agusti writes or revises the sentence in clear and neutral language, adds references, and checks grammar and spelling. Finally, before saving changes, he typically writes a note in the edit summary to explain what was updated.
Agusti also serves as a point of contact for the Wikimedia Pontianak Community. For him, this community plays a major role in Pontianak and West Kalimantan. Wikipedians joining the community document the culture in West Kalimantan. As a result, more people, especially the younger generation, can access accurate and trustworthy information about West Kalimantan.
‘This activity also strengthens public awareness of the importance of preserving local heritage and sharing information openly,’ he said.
Local contributors, according to Agusti, help ensure topics about culture, history, and local potential remain documented and known more widely. Hence, Agusti hopes the government will understand that open access and support for community contributions are essential. ‘Wikipedia can remain an open space of knowledge that is accurate and up to date, and a medium for introducing local culture and information to national and international audiences,’ he added.
A similar concern was raised by Agil Mulyani, a member of the Wikimedia Lampung Community. He says Wikipedians contribute to introducing topics that are still relatively unknown, especially culture, language, or local knowledge. ‘For example, about Lampung culture and customs that are not widely known,’ he said on Friday, 6 March 2026.
According to Agil, editing activities train users to seek information from reliable sources and to present information clearly and neutrally. Editing also teaches accuracy, as every added piece of information must be supported by verifiable references.
Moreover, these activities help Agil improve his writing skills and understand how information can be structured in a way that is easy for readers to understand. Through this process, he has become more aware that not all information on the internet can be trusted without clear sources.
He feels editing is also felt by the wider community. Information added or corrected on Wikipedia can help others gain more complete and accurate knowledge. Moreover, Wikipedia is one of the information sources frequently accessed by students, university students, and the general public.
The Ministry for Digital Transformation Blocked Wikimedia Login Access. The Director-General for Digital Space Oversight, Alexander Sabar, emphasised that this step does not block the entire Wikimedia service. The public can still read and utilise all information available on Wikimedia.
During the period of restriction, activities requiring a user account such as editing or creating new articles were temporarily not possible.
The obligation to register as a Privately Scoped Electronic System Operator is governed by Minister of Communications and Information Regulation Number 5 of 2020. The regulation requires every electronic system operator, whether domestic or foreign, whose services are available and/or used in Indonesia, to register.
Editor’s Note: Disabling child social media accounts begins 28 March 2026