Komdigi Sidak Meta Office, Demands Transparency in Content Oversight

JAKARTA - The Minister of Communication and Digital, Meutya Hafid, together with the Director General of Digital Space Supervision Komdigi, Alexander Sabar, visited Meta Indonesia's representative office in South Jakarta on Wednesday, March 4.

Based on the evaluation of the Directorate General of Digital Space Supervision, the compliance rate of platforms under the auspices of Meta - including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp - is reported to be below 30 percent.

"This afternoon we conducted a raid at Meta's office. This is a follow-up to Article 40 of the ITE Law which states that the government is tasked with protecting public safety and interests from any type of disruption due to misinformation and disinformation," Meutya said at Meta's office on Wednesday, March 4.

Meutya said that in his findings, Komdigi assessed that there were still many obligations that Meta had not carried out, especially those related to content moderation and reporting.

He said that health misinformation was the category with the highest complaint rate. The government received many reports from medical personnel regarding incorrect content on health issues, including vaccines, which had a serious impact and threatened life safety.

In addition, disinformation related to digital crimes such as fraud and online schemes (scamming) is also in the spotlight, because it is considered to be detrimental to the wider community, especially vulnerable groups who are already in a difficult economic condition.

Accompanied by representatives of the National Cyber and Information Agency (BSSN), the Ministry of Home Affairs, the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), and the Criminal Investigation Unit of the National Police, the visit of the Minister of Communication and Information to Meta's office is said to be a form of state presence in protecting Indonesian people in the digital space, including social media.

The government has previously emphasized that all private-sector Electronic System Operators (PSEs) must comply with rules related to content moderation, data protection, and cooperation in maintaining digital space order.

"The overall message from the Indonesian government is that Meta, as an industry that is certainly based in the country, taking advantage of industries carried out in Indonesia must also comply with laws that apply in Indonesia," said Meutya.