Global Voices Advocacy » Indonesia

OpenNet Initiative Releases Results on Filtering in Asia

Jillian York — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 01:08:43 +0000

From the Great Firewall to the Myanmar Wide Web, Asia is well-known for its practices in Internet filtering. China has long taken the lead in blocking Web sites, filtering sites across the spectrum - from social to political content, pornography to Internet tools. The OpenNet Initiative (full disclosure: I'm involved) has been studying the Internet in Asia and around the world since 2002, and has just released its latest reports on Internet surveillance and controls in Asia, and specifically in China.

New research from the OpenNet Initiative (ONI) reveals accelerating restrictions on Internet content as Asian governments shift to next generation controls. These new techniques go beyond blocking access to websites and are more informal and fluid, implemented at edges of the network, and are often backed up by increasingly restrictive and broadly interpreted laws.

According to an recent ONI press release:

“Since 2006, many Asian governments have quickly realized the potential benefits of exploiting opportunities for conducting propaganda or public relations strategies over the Internet, even while cracking down on independent and critical voices thriving in these online spaces- an example of the evolution towards next generation controls,” said Ron Deibert, director of the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto and one of four principal investigators at the ONI.

These controls were evidenced recently in ONI's analysis of China's latest attempt at controlling the flow of information, Green Dam Youth Escort filtering software mandated for pre-installation on PCs sold in China starting July 1. “However, even China's example demonstrates that restrictions on information are far from uniformly effective, and will meet resistance and be contested by the very groups they are intended to silence,” said Rafal Rohozinski, CEO of the SecDev Group and co-founder and principal investigator of ONI and ONI Asia.

The reports for Asia, as well as Burma, China, Pakistan, and South Korea will be featured in a forthcoming MIT Press volume, Access Controlled: The Shaping of Rights, Rule, and Power in Cyberspace, to be published by MIT Press (2010). Access Controlled will include a series of analytical chapters and regional overviews that contribute to the developing discourse around global Internet regulation and censorship raised in the first ONI volume Access Denied: The Practice and Policy of Global Internet Filtering, (Cambridge: MIT Press) 2008.

Indonesia: People Power 2.0

Carolina Rumuat — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:43:36 +0000

Two days after her release from jail [id] on Wednesday 3 June 2009, the first court session for Prita Mulyasari, an Indonesian housewife who was arrested and jailed since mid May for “defaming” an international hospital by writing an online complaint letter took place in Tangerang, one of Jakarta's suburban.

Her arrest had the entire Indonesian blogosphere boggling, as many believes that by jailing her could indicate a weak freedom of speech in the country.

With citizens heading for the ballot next month, Prita's case has been as a matter of urgency by three presidential hopefuls.

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"Consumer speaks, (consumer) goes to jail" poster by Antyo Rentjoko, posted by Enda, protected by CC license

The case is now under many Indonesians' watchful eyes. Facebookers shows support for Prita through several Groups and Support for Prita Mulyasari Cause has reached 316.448 supporters, while Twitterers write updates about press conferences and court hearing.

Speaking on behalf of the Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Information (Depkominfo), an official said[id], as quoted by local newspaper Kompas, that the ministry is concerned about the arrest of Prita, adding that the hospital should improve their service excellence instead of suing former patients for defaming them. Depkominfo also urging people not to fear of expressing their opinion openly.

On the eve before her trial, the officials of Omni International Hospital held a press conference. Blogger Enda Nasution was there to witness the first court session of Prita vs. Omni Hospital. He said:

Enda's update from the press conference

Speaking to Jakarta Globe, Prita admitted that she felt traumatized by her 3 weeks in jail. She convinced herself not to be as active on the cyber world after having this horrible experience.

Indonesia blocks YouTube over “Fitna” the movie

Sami Ben Gharbia — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 12:11:51 +0000

Update (Fri Apr 11, 2008): Indonesia has lifted the ban on Youtube.com. Internet service providers “would only block access to pages carrying the film by Geert Wilders” The vice chairman of the Indonesian Internet Providers Association said.

The Indonesian government has ordered the country’s internet service providers to block YouTube for publishing the 15-minute anti-Muslim film “Fitna”, made by Dutch MP Geert Wilders, leader of the anti-immigration Freedom Party (PVV). Some of the country's ISPs followed the block order, but “Fitna” could still be viewed through other providers.

“A letter was sent to Internet providers asking them to block any site or blog posting the film Fitna (…) Not only YouTube has uploaded the film, so it is up to the ISPs' discretion to block these sites,” a Communications and Information Ministry Official is quoted as saying.

Earlier this week, Indonesia had threatened to block YouTube unless the video-sharing web site removed the aforementioned movie.