The Indonesian government has banned popular gaming sites and web services that do not comply with new registration rules. This ban was made by the Indonesian Ministry of Communications, known locally as Kominfo, and a trend called BlokirKominfo (Block Kominfo) is popular in Indonesian social media.
Among the banned gaming sites and web services are Steam, Epic Games, Battle Net, Ubisoft, Origin, Nintendo including Yahoo and PayPal. PayPal has been temporarily reopened for 5 days so that Indonesian citizens can withdraw their money.
The new rules, which were announced in November 2020, give Indonesian authorities the right to request users' information and the power to take down content that violates the law or causes public unrest within four hours.In early July, Indonesia urged tech companies to sign and comply with the new regulations by July 20.
The requirement to register is part of a set of rules, first released in November 2020, that will allow authorities to order platforms to take down content deemed unlawful, or that "disturbs public order" within four hours if considered urgent, and 24 hours if not.
Indonesia urged tech companies on Monday to register under new licensing rules, or run the risk of having their platforms blocked, with data showing many big tech firms such as Google and Meta had yet to comply days out from July 20 deadline.
Some companies such as Amazon and Facebook were able to meet the deadline. Some companies could not be sure to comply. It is not yet clear whether this situation occurred due to voluntary rejection or indifference.
Indonesian gamers are certainly angry, and freelance creators are relying on PayPal for international work. In social media, there is a trend due to the new rulesThey say that when foreign companies cannot comply, it will affect the Indonesian game and creative industries.
Indonesia is the largest country in Southeast Asia, with a population of 274 million people, nearly 40% of the entire region, and has a fair share of the regional gaming market. Reuters estimates that there are about 191 million Internet users.
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