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| A cleaning worker walks outside Indonesia's constitutional court in Jakarta, Indonesia, May 24, 2019. (File photo by=REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] JAKARTA: Indonesia's decision to block Internet access during periods of social unrest was lawful, its Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday (Oct 27), in a move activists said sets a dangerous precedent for Internet freedom in the world's third-largest democracy.
Rights groups said that the curbs violated freedom of expression and were enacted to suppress civil unrest, a view upheld by an administrative court last year. "This could threaten our freedom of the press, and eventually our democracy could backslide," said Sasmito Madrim, chairman of Indonesia's Alliance of Independent Journalists, which was part of the coalition of civil society organizations that filed last year's judicial review. Indonesian communications ministry spokesman Dedy Permadi said that the government would study the ruling, which is final and binding, and use it to guide its decision to "prevent the spread of Internet content that violates the law".
Access to some local media, including the Suara Papua website, was blocked during the protests. The government also restricted Internet access in the capital Jakarta in 2019 after deadly protests erupted following a divisive presidential election. Arif Nur Fikri, from civil society organization Kontras, said he was concerned that the arbitrary restriction of local media could recur.
