Indonesia: Announced Ministry of Communication and Information measures against online gambling content

On 2 January 2024, the Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Information (MCIT) announced that it had issued blocking and removal orders for online gambling content. The MCIT announced that over 800’000 online gambling contents have been erased. The MCIT further emphasised their ongoing collaboration with the Financial Services Authority to block accounts connected to online gambling. The MCIT also stated that they have requested internet service providers and mobile operators to increase their efforts in eliminating online gambling by ensuring the accurate synchronisation of databases containing gambling content. Specifically, the MCIT issued a warning to Meta, requiring them to improve the handling of gambling content and advertisements on its platform within 24 hours. In addition, the MCIT noted that access was blocked to 596’348 sites and IPs, namely, 173’134 on Meta platforms, 5’993 Google and Youtube platforms, 29’ 257 file-sharing platform accounts, 367 on X, 15 on TikTok platforms, 170 on Telegram, 8 App Store platforms, and 1 Snack Video platform. Finally, the MCIT noted that more than 5’000 bank accounts and e-wallet accounts used for online gambling activities were blocked.