Indonesia issues regulations requiring digital platforms to pay media for content

Indonesia President Joko Widodo said on Tuesday (Feb 20) he had signed a regulation requiring digital platforms to pay media that provide them with content, a move aimed at helping the media industry by levelling the field with big tech.

“The spirit of the regulation is... to ensure a fair cooperation between media and digital platforms, provide clearer cooperation framework between them,” said Jokowi, as the president is popularly known.

Digital platforms in Indonesia include Meta Platforms Facebook, Alphabet Inc’s Google, and some local aggregators.

Google said it will review the regulation. It has worked with news publishers and the government to build a sustainable news ecosystem in Indonesia, its spokesperson said.

Facebook did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.

Google had last year said that the regulation would restrict public access to diverse sources of news instead of promoting quality journalism.

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Jokowi said the drafting process of the regulation, proposed three years ago, had been very long due to different opinions among media and digital platforms.

The regulation posted on the government’s website suggests cooperation between digital platforms and media companies could be in the form of paying licences or sharing data of news users.

A committee would be formed to ensure digital platforms fulfil their responsibilities to the media companies, it said.

The regulation, which takes effect in six months, would not harm content creators as it applied only to digital platforms, Jokowi said.

Content creators had previously complained it could restrict their operations.

Indonesia’s communication and information minister, Budi Arie Setiadi, in a statement said the regulation was part of government efforts to ensure media companies “are not eroded” by digital platforms.

In Australia, the News Media Bargaining Code took effect in March 2021 and tech firms have since signed deals with media outlets compensating them for content which generated clicks and advertising dollars, according to a report by its Treasury Department. REUTERS