Indonesia: authorities block online gambling content

The Ministry of Communication and Informatics claims to have blocked 11,333 pieces of “online gambling content” from July 13 to 19, 2023.

India.- Budie Arie, Indonesia’s communication and informatics minister, has reported that the ministry blocked 11,333 pieces of “illegal online gambling content” from July 13 to 19, 2023. It’s not clear what is meant by “content”, but it is likely that it refers to social media posts and adverts.

During a press conference, Arie said the ministry had taken down 846,047 online gambling-related content since 2018 and had received 1,859 complaints related to bank account misappropriation linked to gambling-related content through the cekrekening.id platform from January to July 17, 2023. These complaints constituted a large part of the 1,914 total complaints registered in 2023 so far.

Arie said the ministry would continue to crack down on all forms of gambling-related content, including in the virtual realm. He said the takedowns were based on the ministry’s cyber patrol findings and public or ministry agency complaints. In cases where such content is found on social media platforms, the ministry engages with the platform organizers to take down the material. Sanctions can be used if platforms refuse to cooperate.