Indonesia Regulates Responsibility of Digital Platform Companies to Support Quality Journalism

A regulation that takes effect on August 20, 2024, sets out new obligations for digital platform companies operating in Indonesia to support quality journalism.

Presidential Regulation No. 32 of 2024 regarding the Responsibilities of Digital Platform Companies to Support Quality Journalism (“PR 32/2024”) was issued on February 20, 2024. Essentially, PR 32/2024 aims to provide a regulatory framework for digital platform companies to support journalistic works (news) published through the companies’ digital platform services so that the works are respected and their ownership is fairly and transparently valued.

This matter was not previously regulated in Indonesia.

The key points of PR 32/2024 include the following:

Scope and Obligations of Digital Platform Companies

PR 32/2024 applies to digital platform companies that offer digital platform services in Indonesia. Digital platform services include the collection, processing, distribution, and presentation of news digitally, as well as news interaction which serves as an intermediary for news presentation services aimed primarily at business.

Digital platform companies are obliged to support quality journalism through the following:

• Must not facilitate the distribution and/or commercialization of any news content that does not adhere to the applicable laws and regulations that apply to the press after receiving reports through the reporting channels provided by the companies;
• Must strive to prioritize the facilitation and commercialization of news produced by press companies;
• Must provide fair treatment to all press companies in offering digital platform services;
• Must implement training and programs to support quality and responsible journalism;
• Must strive to develop new distribution algorithms that support the realization of quality journalism; and
• Must cooperate with press companies.

Despite enumerating the various obligations of digital platform companies, PR 32/2024 does not provide any sanctions for non-compliance.

Cooperation Between Digital Platform Companies and Press Companies

Cooperation between the digital platform companies and press companies shall be based on an agreement. The cooperation can take the form of paid licenses, profit-sharing, aggregated news user data sharing and/or other arrangements.

In case of a contractual dispute, PR 32/2024 recommends parties pursue non-litigation dispute settlement, i.e., arbitration or other methods of alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”).

Compliance Committee and Its Funding

An independent committee is to be established by the Press Council, with its main task being to help ensure digital platform companies comply with their obligations under PR 32/2024.

The committee will comprise representatives from the Press Council (maximum five persons), the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (one person), and experts (maximum five persons, as appointed by the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs). The committee members will be appointed for a three-year term, extendable by one additional term.

PR 32/2024 sets out the responsibilities of the committee as follows:

• Monitor and facilitate the compliance of digital platform companies;
• Issue recommendations to the Minister of Communications and Information Technology based on its monitoring results; and
• Facilitate the arbitration (or other ADR method) process in the event of a dispute.

The committee is also required to issue periodic reports at least once a year that are to be uploaded to the Press Council’s information system and be easily accessible. Funding for the committee shall be sourced from press organizations and press companies, with assistance from the state and/or other forms of assistance permitted by law.

Conclusion

PR 32/2024 sets the groundwork for the positive presentation of journalistic works published by digital platform companies through their digital platform services, which is vital with so much information being publicly circulated through digital platforms. Additionally, PR 32/2024 establishes a new ecosystem for digital platform companies to maintain proper recognition and ownership of journalistic works.

From the context of dispute resolution, through the promotion of ADR in the event of contractual disputes between digital platform companies and press companies, PR 32/2024 helps move Indonesia toward being a more arbitration-friendly country.

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