Open Net, AccessNow, and Electronic Frontier Foundation Submit Amicus Curiae Brief on Website Blocking by Indonesian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

On May 3, 2023, Open Net, along with Access Now and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), submitted an amicus curiae brief challenging Ministerial Regulation 5/2020 (MR5), which grants the Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (Kominfo) overly broad powers to block websites not registered with the authorities, violating international human rights law and the Indonesian Constitution.

Open Net director Park Kyung-sin pointed out, “Indonesia’s MR5 mandates all domestic and foreign business internet users to register with the authorities, making them vulnerable to government pressure in various aspects such as future content censorship. Moreover, the authorities are enforcing the registration requirement with the punishment of complete blocking. This violates the principle of proportionality.”

MR5’s blocking authority undermines international human rights law and the Indonesian Constitution by granting the Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Information Technology arbitrary enforcement powers to broadly block internet sites and online expression and information without proportional restrictions. This law, lacking strict guidelines, risks infringing on freedom of expression and economic and cultural rights.

The amicus curiae brief was submitted alongside a lawsuit filed against MR5 in the Jakarta State Administrative Court by the independent Indonesian press ‘Alliance of Media and Creative Industry Workers for Union and Democracy’. Civil society organizations, including Access Now, submitted a letter to the Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Information Technology urging the repeal of MR5, which does not comply with international human rights standards.

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