Why Wikipedia is Threatened to be Blocked by Kemkomdigi? Here's the Trigger

Why is Wikipedia threatened to be blocked by the Ministry of Communication and Information? (photo: doc. unsplash)

YOGYAKARTA - The threat of blocking Wikipedia is becoming a public concern in Indonesia. This began with the steps of the Ministry of Communication and Digital (Kemkomdigi) Indonesia which issued an ultimatum to the Wikimedia Project website, including Wikipedia. Why is Wikipedia threatened to be blocked by Kemkomdigi? Komdigi urges the encyclopedia platform to fulfill the obligation to register as a Private Sector Electronic System Operator (PSE).

The government asked the platform to complete the obligation to register as a private sector Electronic System Operator (PSE).

"The Wikimedia Project website, including Wikipedia, will be blocked by Kemkomdigi within 7 working days if it does not register as a private scope PSE in Indonesia," Wikipedia wrote on the X account, Wednesday (15/4/2026) evening.

So, what is the trigger for the threat of blocking this information provider platform?

Komdigi Ultimatum Wikipedia Foundation

The obligation to fulfill the PSE scope of the private sector is the government's attention to platforms operating in Indonesia. In its official statement, Kemkomdigi gave a warning to the Wikipedia Foundation to immediately complete the registration process.

The government's commitment to enforcing regulations was emphasized by Director General of Digital Space Supervision Alexander Sabar.

"The government through the Ministry of Communication and Digital confirms its commitment to upholding the governance of a disciplined and fair digital space for all electronic system organizers," said Alex in Central Jakarta, Wednesday (15/04/2026).

Within 7 working days, Wikipedia is urged to immediately register for the private PSE scope. If it is not met, Kemkomdigi will block Wikimedia services, including the online encyclopedia ecosystem of Wikipedia Indonesia and Wikimedia Commons.

7-Day Deadline as an Extension

The 7-day deadline given to the Wikipedi Foundation is an extension of the time given by the government. The deadline was given after the notification process in 2025.

Director General Alex explained that the notification was given by Kemkomdigi to the Wikimedia Foundation since November 14, 2025 so that it could immediately register as a Private Scope PSE in accordance with the applicable rules.

Kemkomdigi menegaskan bahwa mereka akan segera memberikan sanksi karena Wikimedia disebut sudah diberi batas waktu yang cukup panjang.

"In the last extension, namely 7 days, the Wikimedia Foundation is expected to immediately complete the PSE registration process in accordance with applicable regulations," said Alex.

"If there is still no compliance with the law in Indonesia, we will take firm action in the form of blocking," he continued.

Timeline of Wikipedia compliance evaluation

In the release, Kemkomdigi also informed the timeline for evaluating the PSE compliance of the Wikipedia Foundation:

14 November 2025: Kemkomdigi sends an initial notification regarding the PSE registration obligation Private Scope 21 November 2025: Wikimedia requests an extension, Kemkomdigi fulfills the request 1 December 2025: Wikimedia again requests an extension, Kemkomdigi fulfills the request 6 January 2026: Wikimedia Again requests an extension, with a Final Deadline on 20 January 2026 28 January 2026: Final Deadline denied by Wikimedia, Kemkomdigi sends a notification letter of plan to block 28 January 2026 - 25 February 2026: During this period, Wikimedia Foundation again did not respond to the blocking plan 25 February 2026: Blocking limited to auth.wikimedia.org links 7 April 2026: Kemkomdigi invites Wikimedia to discuss the PSE registration 9 April 2026: Wikimedia says it has no representative in Indonesia 13 April 2026: Wikimedia still has not registered PSE Private Scope 15 April 2026: Kemkomdigi gives a final extension, namely for 7 days, if it does not register it will be blocked.

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