Heaptalk, Jakarta — Responding to the establishment of the Social Media Council (DMS), Minister of Communication and Informatics Budi Arie Setiadi stated that this DMS would help the government protect children from violence and bullying in the digital space.
“The Social Media Council is not an indiscriminate idea. This council is a recommendation from UNESCO, where this proposal has been submitted to us. The academic text has reached 160 pages regarding the Social Media Council (DMS).” Minister Budi.
Furthermore, Budi explained that the plan was aligned with the government in early 2024 to implement Law No. 1 of 2024 concerning the Second Amendment to Law No. 11 of 2008 concerning Information and Electronic Transactions. According to his statement, the government has yet to execute several steps to establish a Social Media Council. His party is still considering the policy plan for forming this council.
“We intend to hold children protection in the digital space. Moreover, we frequently observed cases of child bullying on social media. We must protect these victims,” Minister Budi affirmed.
Previously, Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet) proposed the outline during the second ITE Law amendment. According to SAFEnet, the formation of this council must be carried out carefully.
“We proposed DMS as a new independent institution that contains various stakeholders and functions to replace the Ministry of Tech’s role in conducting content moderation as the Ministry has had significant authority in moderating content so far,” SAFEnet affirmed.
Besides, the formation of the DMS designed by the Ministry is also considered very vague and could conflict with the initial principles. Thus, SAFEnet emphasized this council must adopt all principles, particularly independence and multistakeholderism.
“This UNESCO principle involves multi-stakeholders in social media. Thus, this social media council is independent and has a coalition of stakeholders such as religious leaders, academics, the public, and overall social media activists,” Minister Budi Arie Setiadi responds to the SAFEnet’s consideration.
Further, Minister Budi looks forward to society not misinterpreting the discussions that are currently developing. He emphasized that forming the Social Media Council would not restrict public freedom of opinion on social media platforms. The government will also boost democratization in the digital space and encourage content creators to develop beneficial content.
