2022 Indonesia Internet Apocalypse

Submission 9,639

Overview

2022 Indonesia Internet Apocalypse refers to a mass block of websites on the Internet in Indonesia that didn't register their URL domains to Indonesia's PSE (Indonesian: Penyelenggara Sistem Elektonik . Eng: Electronic System Operator). Since some big corporations such as Steam, Epic Games Store, and PayPal didn't register their domains, the government temporarily (and perhaps permanently) blocked all of them, severely impacting Indonesian gamers and freelancers who use these services to play games and earn money.

Background

On November 16th, 2020, Indonesia's Kementrian Komunikasi dan Informatika (Acronym: KOMINFO or Kemkominfo. Eng: Ministry of Communication and Information Technology) put out a new Ministry Law titled Permenkominfo No.5/2020 about Penyelenggara Sistem Elektronik ^[1], and Permenkominfo No.5/2022 as a reference^[2]. The law declares that "every website on the Internet that has been used as an e-commerce service, streaming service, or social media site and uses electronic payment should register to the PSE."

According to CNN Indonesia ^[3], the Ministry threatened Google , WhatsApp , and Instagram with a block, giving the corporations until July 21st, 2022 to register their URL domains, or else see their apps and websites become inaccessible in Indonesia.

The Indonesian government's reasoning behind the registration requirement is a new value-added tax on digital transactions, which would generate revenue for the government.^[15] Another reason is the increased control that the registration law gives the government over what information appears on the Indonesian internet. Under the new rules, registered websites must provide data to law enforcement and remove content which the government determines might "disturb public order" or guide people in accessing "prohibited content."^[16] For this reason, many human rights advocates are disturbed by the new law and how it might be received in a global climate that sees many countries increasingly seeking to regulate the internet.

Starting July 30th, 2022 on 12:00 AM local time, the Ministry blocked all websites that didn't register their URL domains to the PSE on time, including Steam , PayPal , and more. Facebook^[4] page "Pratama Game Shop – PGS" uploaded the earliest post about not being able to access Steam . The post received 543 reactions and 804 shares (shown below).

Online Reactions

Only a few hours later, many Indonesians created memes about their disappointments and frustrations after the Ministry blocked critical websites such as Steam and PayPal . For example on July 30th, 2022, Facebook^[5] user Abraham Ehrlich uploaded a screenshot edit written "May Allah destroy KOMINFO." The post received 564 reactions and more than 1,300 shares (shown below, left). On the same day, Facebook^[6] user Dani Fatih Panggalih uploaded a We Did It Patrick! We Saved The City edit. The post received more than 1,000 reactions and 2,300 shares (shown below, right).

On July 30th, 2022, Indonesian e-sports team BOOM ESPORTS via their official Twitter^[7] uploaded an edit making fun of the Ministry decision to block Steam , showing their team playing the offline game Zuma using Virtual Reality. The tweet received more than 14,200 likes and 4,400 retweets in two days (shown below, left). On the same day, another e-sports team, Team Secret via their official Twitter^[8] uploaded a My Hero Academia edit showing Deku pointing to a monitor that reads "this website has been blocked." The tweet received more than 46,500 likes and 15,200 retweets (shown below, right).

Many local and international media outlets such as The Jakarta Post^[10] , Reuters^[11] , and IGN Southeast Asia^[12] published articles about the mass block.

Developments

Buzzer Terrors

On July 30th, 2022, Facebook^[9] user Hafiz Habis uploaded screenshots of himself after he attended the Twitter Spaces event discussing the controversy. Later, he was terrorized by unknown people online called "buzzers" (the Indonesian version of China's 50 Cent Army online troll army) who threatened his family after he asked questions such as "How can the Indonesian government invite foreign investors, while unironically creating laws that makes investors not want to invest their money in Indonesia." The post received 570 reactions and more than 1,400 shares only in a few hours (shown below).

Throwing A Bottle Of Pee At The Kominfo Office

On July 30th, 2022, Facebook^[13] user Anichka created an event titled "Ramai-Ramai Lempar Botol Pipis ke Kantor Kementrian Komunikasi Dan Informatika." (Eng. Let's Throw A Bottle of Pee at the Communication and Information Technology Office) that will be held on August 1st, 2022. More than 3,500 people indicated they were interested in the event (shown below, left).

Prior to July 31st, 2022, Instagram page @blokpolitikpelajar uploaded a post about a similar message calling on people to bring a bottle of pee and throw it at the KOMINFO office in Jakarta, Indonesia. The original post has been removed due to "inappropriate words" such as lempar (Eng. Throw), and pipis (Eng. Pee). On July 31st, 2022, the same Instagram^[14] page reuploaded the post and censored some words. The post received 530 likes in one day (shown below, right).