Jakarta – Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs (Menkomdigi) Meutya Hafid revealed the reasons behind the slow handling of online gambling sites on the internet, explaining why they continue to be accessed by the public.
Meutya stated that the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi) has been blocking keywords related to online gambling.
“We have been blocking related keywords. From November 4th to November 20th, the age of the Desk (Online Gambling Eradication) reached 1,361 keywords on Google and 7,252 keywords on Meta,” she said at the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs office on Thursday (November 21, 2024).
Meutya explained that technology companies that provide digital services have their own community guidelines, which differ significantly from the regulations in Indonesia.
“Why can’t it be as fast as we want, especially on platforms of large tech companies? As mentioned by the Coordinating Minister, we cannot delete the keywords ourselves. We have sent letters to Google, TikTok, and Meta to collaborate in removing these keywords,” she clarified.
Minister Meutya Hafid urged digital platforms operating in Indonesia to also comply with the laws in force, including handling online gambling content.
“They follow the guidelines of their respective companies. This is what we are pushing for, requesting them to also adhere to the laws applicable in Indonesia. As we know, gambling may not be illegal in other countries, but it is illegal in Indonesia. So, if these keywords are opened from Indonesia, we request that they not appear in the keyword list,” said Meutya.
According to data on handling gambling content on digital platforms from November 4 to November 19, 2024, a total of 104,819 pieces of content have been dealt with.
When broken down, 92,940 pieces of content were found on websites + IPs, 6,911 pieces on Meta, 2,811 pieces on file sharing sites, 1,308 pieces on Google/YouTube, 691 pieces on X, 99 pieces on Telegram, and 48 pieces on TikTok.
