Ministry of Communication and Digital Has Blocked Over 7.9 Million Online Gambling Contents, Most from Websites

Director General of Public Information and Communication, Prabu Revolusi (photo: VOI doc.)

JAKARTA - Starting from October 20, 2024 to November 5, 2024 at 06.00 WIB, the Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi) has blocked 227,811 contents related to online gambling, or around 14,238 contents per day.

There are allegations that employees of the Komdigi Ministry were involved in an online gambling syndicate, by backing 1000 online gambling sites, according to the suspect's confession. Meanwhile, the Director General of Information and Public Communication (IKP) Komdigi, Prabu Revolusi, emphasized his commitment to eradicating online gambling in the country.

Prabu stated that the action is not only about the number and perpetrators who support online gambling, but also about protecting the public from exposure to content that has the potential to damage mental, economic, and social order.

Accounts with a large number of followers reaching hundreds of thousands have not escaped the action, including @siskaeee_vip, @cinemalokal.id, @story_checkin.

Cumulatively since 2016 until today, the government has blocked more than 7.9 million online gambling content, ranging from websites to social media.

Based on the latest report from the Komdigi Informatics Application Control Directorate (PAI), most of the online gambling content that was successfully taken down came from online sites and IPs, with a total of 213,336 contents or equivalent to 93% of the total content that was prosecuted.

Then followed by the social media platform Meta with 7,523 contents (3.3%), file-sharing with 4,491 contents (1.9%), Google and YouTube with 1,612 contents (0.7%), Twitter/X with 816 contents (0.3%), and Tiktok which was detected with 2 contents.

"We see that the site and IP platforms still dominate in the distribution of content. However, we also remain vigilant with the emergence of new forms of distribution of this content on social media," explained Prabu.

In addition to blocking efforts, the Ministry of Communication and Digital is also actively educating the public about the dangers of online gambling and the importance of early prevention. The government also appealed to the public to be more vigilant and aware of the major risks that can arise from online gambling activities.