Google complies with Indonesia licensing rules, others risk blocking – ministry

The logo for Google LLC is seen at the Google Store Chelsea in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., November 17, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

JAKARTA, July 21 (Reuters) – Indonesia said on Thursday Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google has signed up to its new licensing rules for technology platforms, but warned that companies that had yet to register would be blocked in five working days.

Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan of the communications ministry told a news conference that Amazon and Alibaba were among the companies that had yet to comply.

Representatives for Amazon and Alibaba were not immediately available for comment.

Registration is required under rules released in late November 2020 and will give authorities broad powers to compel platforms to disclose data of certain users and take down content deemed unlawful or that “disturbs public order” within four hours if urgent, and 24 hours if not.

The government had set a Wednesday deadline for companies to sign up and most had done so earlier this week. read more

The new rules are intended to ensure a positive online environment, the government has said, but activists and civil society groups say the regulations are among the most repressive in the region and pose a threat to freedom of expression.

Google was among the last tech giants to agree to the rules, with Twitter (TWTR.N) and Zoom Video Communication (ZM.O) added to a communications ministry list of foreign providers on Wednesday, joining Meta Platforms Inc’s (META.O) units Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, which registered a day earlier.

With an estimated 191 million internet users and a young, social-media savvy population, the Southeast Asian nation is a significant market for a host of tech platforms.

Reporting by Yuddy Cahya Budiman and Stanley Widianto; Writing by Kate Lamb; Editing by Ed Davies and Kanupriya Kapoor

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