Ministry blocks almost 3 million online gambling content

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Minister of Communication and Informatics Budi Arie Setiadi said the ministry had succeeded in blocking around 2,945,150 online gambling content in almost a year.

“We have taken down 2,945,150 online gambling content from July 17, 2023 to June 13, 2024,” he noted in a statement from his office on Saturday (June 15).

The eradication of online gambling content was carried out as a form of the ministry’s commitment in preventing its negative impacts to the society, Setiadi remarked.

He said that his ministry has also submitted a proposal to close around 555 e-wallet accounts related to online gambling activities to Bank Indonesia.

“The request to block 5,779 bank accounts related to online gambling to the Financial Services Authority (OJK) has been ongoing from September 18, 2023 to May 28, 2024,” he said.

From July 17, 2023, to June 13, 2024, the ministry handled 16,596 gambling page inserts on educational sites and 18,974 on government sites.

It has also sent a warning letter to digital platforms such as X, Telegram, Google, Meta, and TikTok which unscrupulous individuals widely use to disseminate these sites.

“Digital platform managers will be fined up to Rp500 million (US$29 thousand) per content if they are not cooperative in eradicating online gambling,” Setiadi stressed.

The ministry continues to wipe out online gambling due to its huge negative impact on the society, ranging from economic, social, and even psychological aspects which result in quite a few fatalities.

In eradicating online gambling sites, Setiadi said the ministry has explored technology adoption from Google in utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to accelerate the processing of online gambling content reports to become more effective and efficient.

In accordance to the provisions of Law Number 1 of 2024, Second Amendment to Law Number 11 of 2008 concerning Electronic Information and Transactions, the Ministry is preventing the dissemination of content that is prohibited by statutory regulations by terminating access.

Translator: Chairul Rohman, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Tia Mutiasari
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