Image by Oberon Copeland @veryinformed.com on Unsplash via NST
According to The Star, the Wikimedia Foundation said on Friday it would hold talks with the Indonesian government after Jakarta threatened to block Wikipedia over registration rules that the company said "deviate from international human rights norms".
There will be a meeting next week to discuss this matter
A meeting is scheduled to take place next week to discuss Indonesia's demand that Wikimedia register as an "electronic system provider" (PSE), Wikipedia's parent company said in a statement to AFP. Under the 2020 regulations, all PSE companies, including those based overseas, are required to register, which the government says is for legal and consumer protection purposes.
Critics, however, point out that there is a provision that requires registered PSEs to delete content deemed to "cause public unrest and disturb public order", which is seen as a restriction on freedom of expression. The government on Wednesday gave the foundation seven days to register or face action to block its services, including Wikipedia Indonesia, in the country of 284 million people.
“We aim to explain the Foundation’s unique position as a non-profit technology host for Wikipedia… and how registration under Indonesia’s MR5 regulations deviates from international human rights norms and threatens the privacy and security of Wikipedia editors,” the statement said.
Moreover, it added that "we will oppose unreasonable directives, and oppose laws that require the prompt and mandatory disclosure of user data without the opportunity to make appropriate legal objections". The ban on Wikipedia in Indonesia would "deny access to the world's largest repository of free knowledge for the world's fourth most populous country", the statement added.
Indonesia's Ministry of Communications and Digital did not respond to a request for comment
Earlier this week, the ministry stated that the Wikimedia Foundation had applied several times for an extension of the registration period.
In October, Indonesia temporarily suspended TikTok's local operating license after the social media platform refused to share information requested by Jakarta regarding violent anti-government protests earlier that year.
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