Watch Out: UU ITE

Let’s welcome our new friend, UU ITE, Undang – Undang Informasi dan Transaksi Elektronik – the law of electronic information and transaction. It is new and officially working from now on in Indonesia.

I think it started few weeks ago when the government is talking about the plan to block the porn site and forum. Even the famous forum in the country, kaskus, can’t run away from it. The 18sx thread, BB17, that contained nudity or semi nudity pictures and videos, has been closed. So it’s now a so called CLEAN forum.

So, they want to block the porn site, both local and international. Adultfinder[dot]com is in the list too. Not only that, with the newly launched UU ITE, the freedom of writing online is in danger too. Blogger and online journalist shall beware of their writings. They might be sued if one doesn’t like the content of their writing.

UU Informasi dan Transaksi Elektronik (ITE) adalah lampu kuning bagi jurnalis. Jika seseorang tak senang dengan berita, si jurnalis yang menulis berita bisa diancam dengan pasal penghinaan atau pencemaran nama baik.

quoted from Analisa daily, 4th April 2008.

Er.. Why does it sounds like the Soeharto era when press freedom was so limited. One had to watch out his/her mouth and writing, or else will end up in a small dark room alone.

Well, at one point it is good, so we won’t simply write untruth thing. About the blocking porn site and forum, I think they should educate the people first instead of taking away the freedom to surf any site. Because the more you tell them NO, the more they will want to fight you back.

From now on, I shall run through every single words that I write before I click the Publish button. I’ll be a good girl.

2 Comments

  • Dear all,
    In representing Asosiasi Internet Indonesia, I have wrote an article discussing the weaknesses and some illegal basis of the new information law, which you can download at http://www.isocid.net/kelemahanuuite.pdf . If you need an English version, please send an email to sekretaris at isocid.net

  • Privacy says:

    Freedom of speech is dead again? Is this reform era that we think before ? or is this a new way for silent people that know about knowing something?

    Maybe I can sue the government because looking into my private sections. The BLOG is our private sections.

    Its just like you are on the bathroom and the “legal officer” come in without permissions and check your body to searching some virus while you naked?

    I think there a rule in private & terms of blogger of the world that protect the content of the blog ? or maybe all of us shall add new text in our blog “WRITER DON’T RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT READER SAW AND READ AND BELIEVE”.