Wikimedia, Indonesia reach a compromise

The Wikimedia Foundation said on Saturday that it has found a compromise with the Indonesian govt, which had threatened to block Wikipedia over domestic registration rules the foundation feared were overly invasive. Under a 2020 regulation, all electronic system providers (PSEs) must register in Indonesia for what the govt calls legal and user protection purposes before making their services available. Critics term the provision that requires registered PSEs to take down content deemed as “causing public unrest and disturbing public order” as a free speech restriction. The foundation said it had a “very constructive meeting” earlier in the week with the communication and digital affairs ministry, which gave “assurances that there would be no unlawful content takedown orders or data disclosure requirements that could put the Wikimedia community-led model at risk”. The govt last week gave the foundation seven days to register or face its services, including Wikipedia Indonesia. The ministry did not respond to an AFP request for comment.