The Wikimedia Foundation said on Saturday that it had reached a compromise with the Indonesian government, which had threatened to block Wikipedia over local registration rules that the foundation fears are overly aggressive.
Under the 2020 Regulation, all PSEs must register in Indonesia for what the government calls legal and user protection purposes before making their services available. Critics describe the ruling requiring registered public service organizations to remove content deemed to “cause public disturbances and disturb public order” as a restriction of freedom of expression. The foundation said it held a “very constructive meeting” earlier in the week with the Ministry of Communications and Digital Affairs, which provided “assurances that there will be no unlawful content removal orders or data disclosure requirements that could jeopardize Wikimedia’s community-led model.” Last week, the government gave the organization seven days to register or face its services, including Wikipedia Indonesia. The ministry did not respond to AFP’s request for comment.