Search engine website Yahoo!, payment firm Paypal, and several gaming websites have been blocked by the Indonesian government due to their failure to follow the licensing rules, according to an official statement released on Saturday.
The news was followed by great backlash on social media from netizens, under the rules released in late November 2020, registration is required, which will give authorities broad powers to compel platforms to disclose data of certain users. It would also allow the authorities to take down content deemed unlawful or that “disturbs public order” within four hours, if urgent, and 24 hours if not.
Many tech companies had rushed to register in days leading to the deadline which was extended until Friday, including Alphabet, Meta Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, and Amazon.com Inc.
Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, a senior official at Indonesia's communications ministry, said in a text message that websites that have been blocked include Yahoo!, Paypal and gaming sites such as Steam, Dota2, Counter-Strike and EpicGames, among others.
Paypal, Yahoo!'s parent private equity firm Apollo Global Management and US game developer Valve Corporation, which runs Steam, Dota and Counter-Strike, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. EpicGames could not be reached for comment. With an estimated 191 million internet users and a young, social-media savvy population, the Southeast Asian nation is a significant market for a host of tech platforms. Pangerapan did not respond to a request for comment.
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