STRONG REACTIONS FROM SOUTHEAST ASIAN GOVERNMENTS
Indonesia’s Communications and Informatics (Kominfo) Minister Budi Arie Setiadi on Wednesday (Jun 5) said X must abide by Indonesian laws and regulations – which among other things prohibit the dissemination of pornographic content – if it does not want to be sanctioned or blocked.
“All X policies that conflict with these rules and other applicable regulations will still be sanctioned, including blocking and/or fines,” Mr Budi said, as quoted by CNN Indonesia.
Director General of Public Information and Communication at Kominfo Usman Kansong meanwhile told the news outlet that the prohibition of pornography is also contained in various other laws in Indonesia, including the Anti-Pornography Law and the Criminal Code.
“If X violates rules related to pornography … Kominfo can take action from warning, taking down content to closing access,” said Mr Usman.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s Minister of Communications Fahmi Fadzil said that X’s move “clearly” violated Malaysian laws and thus they were not acceptable.
He told a post-Cabinet meeting press conference on Jun 5 that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) will convey to X the government’s firm stance towards its latest policy.
“The MCMC chief operating officer Mohd Ali Hanafiah Mohd Yunus will ensure that all platforms, not just X, understand that certain activities, such as online gambling, dissemination of pornographic materials, and other prohibited content as per our national laws, are not tolerated on these platforms, including those happening on X,” Mr Fahmi was quoted as saying by Bernama.
Separately, an official from the Philippines’ Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) told local media that X’s policy change underscores the importance of having a law that will give local authorities more powers to regulate social media.
“This is a cultural sensitivity issue. We really need to regulate social media because just because a Western brand thinks that this is okay, that doesn’t mean it is okay for us,” DICT’s Undersecretary Jeffrey Ian Dy was quoted as saying by ABS-CBN News.
The news outlet also reported that the DICT has been pushing for the regulation of social media platforms instead of an outright ban of such sites that violate local laws.
