Young Generation Invited to Become Agents of Change in the Digital Space
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) is inviting the young generation to become agents of change in the digital space to produce positive and inspirational counter-narratives.
“We are fully committed to supporting every innovative step taken by the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs,” said BNPT Head Eddy Hartono when contacted in Jakarta on Friday.
He assessed that all parties must jointly nurture young creative communities because they are the group most vulnerable to infiltration of radical ideologies through social media and digital platforms.
Therefore, he said, prevention from an early stage through strengthening digital literacy is the primary measure.
He also stated that the protective fortress for children must be reinforced.
Going forward, BNPT together with the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs will strengthen several strategic steps, ranging from integrating national resilience content into the national digital literacy programme, enhancing coordination in monitoring and taking down radical content, to empowering young creative communities to produce positive counter-narratives.
“We also need to accelerate monitoring and enforcement so that the ‘take down’ process (removal) of terrorist radical content can run more responsively and accurately,” he said.
The BNPT Head also emphasised the importance of cross-institutional synergy in safeguarding the digital space from the threats of radicalism and terrorism, especially towards children as a vulnerable group.
Eddy expressed appreciation for the government’s steps through the issuance of PP Tunas as a response to the needs of the state and society in the digital era.
Private Sector Commitment
He added that the involvement of the private sector is a positive signal to support the implementation of government regulations, particularly PP Tunas.
He gave an example, one of which is through the commitment of the online gaming platform Roblox, which is beginning to align its operations with regulations in Indonesia through the implementation of age verification.
In addition, restrictions on communication features that have the potential to be misused for spreading radical ideologies and online recruitment have also been carried out by Roblox.
“We appreciate that commitment. This is a crucial step, considering that gaming platforms often become entry points that escape supervision in the spread of radical ideologies to children,” said Eddy.