Association Rejects 500 Meter Outdoor Ad Ban In PP 28/2024

Chairman of the Indonesian Griya Outer Media Association (AMLI) Fabianus Bernadi. (Photo: ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Griya Outer Media Association (AMLI) rejects the prohibition of outdoor advertising 500 meters from educational units and children's playgrounds in Government Regulation (PP) Number 28 of 2024.

General Chairperson of AMLI Fabianus Bernadi assessed that PP 28/2024 was ratified without involving various affected stakeholders.

As a result, he said, there are various articles that are impossible to implement in the field because they have the potential to create various understandings, including in Article 449.

Article 449 in PP Number 28 of 2024 concerning Implementation Regulations of Law Number 17 of 2023 concerning Health regulates the prohibition of loosening advertisements for tobacco products within a radius of 500 meters from educational units and children's playgrounds.

In this article, misperceptions of the details of the distance determination in question can occur and the government is considered to have failed to understand the technical operations of the advertising sector.

"This radius rule is problematic and will kill our business. The number of workers in foreign media can drop to dismissal or direct layoffs, the figure can be up to 59 percent of the total workers," Fabianus said as quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, August 29.

He added that as many as 86 percent of AMLI members would be directly affected by the regulation.

In detail, of this figure, at least 44 percent will experience a significant negative impact because 50 percent of their income comes from advertising for tobacco products.

Meanwhile, as much as 23 percent of the rest are certain to be in danger of going out of business if the regulation is enforced because as much as 75 percent of their income comes from advertising for tobacco products.

Representing media business actors outside the griya, Fabianus requested that the regulation be revised by considering input from affected business actors.

"Hopefully, our aspirations will be heard by the government. It is better if the rules related to billboards outside the hospital refer to PP 109/2012. The latest (Article 449) is abolished," he said.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Indonesian Advertising Council (DPI) Regulation Deliberation Body as well as a member of the Indonesian Pariwara Ethics Team Herry Margono said the policy-making seemed not to understand the situation on the ground.

Before this rule was passed, DPI had conveyed its aspirations to the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes), but had never responded.

DPI also highlighted that the majority of advertising sectors in areas were directly affected from the 500-meter zoning of banning advertisements for tobacco products and their value was large so that they could significantly affect advertising businesses.

Meanwhile, the Head of Public Policy for the Indonesian Employers' Association (Apindo) Sutrisno Iwantono said that from a legal perspective, Apindo saw that PP 28/2024 was flawed from the start because it did not involve affected stakeholders.

The emergence of the regulation has created tremendous turmoil from across sectors, including firm rejection from advertising entrepreneurs as well as merchants and retailers.

"These various rejections indicate that there has been no communication between the government and business actors. As far as I know in Apindo, I have never been involved in the discussion. So, it can be concluded that this policy has many problems and defects in implementation so it is difficult to implement in the field," he said.

In addition, the regulation is considered to be able to threaten labor absorption in various sectors related to the tobacco industry to encourage the rampant circulation of illegal cigarettes due to unilateral prohibitions.

For this reason, Iwantono hopes that various inputs from business actors can be used as the main consideration for the current government. Especially for PP 28/2024, he asked to be revised or postponed because it was not possible to carry out based on pressure from various sectors.