Freedom of opinion, freedom of expression, and freedom of the press are human rights protected by Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations. The existence of online media in Indonesia is also a part of the freedom of opinion, freedom of expression, and freedom of the press.
Online media has its own unique characteristics and therefore requires specific guidelines to ensure its management is conducted professionally and fulfills its functions, rights, and responsibilities in accordance with Law No. 40 of 1999 on the Press and the Journalistic Code of Ethics. For this purpose, the Press Council, together with press organizations, online media managers, and the public, has drafted the following Guidelines for Online Media Reporting:
1. Scope
Online Media refers to all forms of media that use the Internet platform and carry out journalistic activities, and that fulfill the requirements of the Press Law and the Standards for Press Companies as established by the Press Council.
User Generated Content refers to all content created and/or published by users of online media, such as articles, images, comments, audio, videos, and other uploads embedded in online media, such as blogs, forums, reader or viewer comments, and other similar forms.
2. News Verification and Balance
- In principle, all news must go through a verification process.
- News that could potentially harm other parties must be verified in the same report to fulfill principles of accuracy and balance.
- Exceptions to (a) are permitted under the following conditions:
- The news contains urgent public interest;
- The initial source is clearly identified, credible, and competent;
- The subject of the news cannot be reached or interviewed;
- The media must provide a statement to readers that the news still requires further verification, which is being pursued promptly. This note must appear at the end of the article, in brackets and italicized.
- After publishing news under (c), the media is required to continue efforts to verify the content, and once verification is obtained, it must be published in an updated version with a link to the unverified article.
3. User Generated Content
- Online media must include terms and conditions for User Generated Content that do not conflict with Law No. 40 of 1999 on the Press and the Journalistic Code of Ethics, and must be clearly displayed.
- Users must register and log in before being able to publish any form of User Generated Content. Login provisions will be further regulated.
- During registration, users must give written consent that the content they publish:
- Does not contain false, defamatory, violent, or obscene material;
- Does not promote hatred or prejudice based on ethnicity, religion, race, and inter-group (SARA) issues or incite violence;
- Does not include discriminatory content based on gender or language, or degrade the dignity of the weak, poor, sick, mentally disabled, or physically disabled individuals.
- Online media has absolute authority to edit or remove User Generated Content that violates point (c).
- Online media must provide a mechanism for reporting User Generated Content that violates point (c). This mechanism must be easily accessible to users.
- Online media must edit, remove, or correct any reported User Generated Content that violates point (c) promptly and no later than 2 x 24 hours after the complaint is received.
- Online media that complies with points (a), (b), (c), and (f) shall not be held responsible for problems arising from the publication of content violating point (c).
- Online media is responsible for reported User Generated Content if it fails to take corrective action within the stated time limit.
4. Corrections, Clarifications, and Right of Reply
- Corrections, clarifications, and rights of reply refer to the Press Law, the Journalistic Code of Ethics, and the Right of Reply Guidelines established by the Press Council.
- Corrections, clarifications, and/or rights of reply must be linked to the original article.
- Each correction, clarification, and/or right of reply must include the time of its publication.
- If a piece of news is redistributed by other online media:
- The responsibility of the originating media is limited to content published on its own platform or those under its technical authority;
- Corrections made by the originating media must also be implemented by other media that republish the news;
- Media that republish but fail to apply the same corrections are fully liable for any legal consequences of the uncorrected content.
- According to the Press Law, online media that fails to provide the right of reply may face a maximum criminal fine of IDR 500,000,000 (five hundred million rupiah).
5. News Retraction
- Published news cannot be retracted due to external editorial censorship, except in matters involving SARA (ethnicity, religion, race, inter-group), decency, children’s future, victims’ traumatic experiences, or other special considerations determined by the Press Council.
- Other online media must follow suit in retracting quoted news from an original media source that has retracted it.
- Retractions must include a reason and must be announced publicly.
6. Advertising
- Online media must clearly differentiate between news content and advertising.
- Any content/article/post that is an advertisement or paid content must be clearly labeled with terms such as “advertorial”, “advertisement”, “ads”, “sponsored”, or other designations that explain the nature of the content.
7. Copyright
Online media must respect copyrights as regulated by applicable laws and regulations.
8. Posting of Guidelines
Online media must clearly display these Online Media Reporting Guidelines on their platform.
9. Disputes
Final assessment of disputes related to the implementation of these Guidelines shall be resolved by the Press Council.
Jakarta, February 3, 2012
(These Guidelines were signed by the Press Council and press community in Jakarta on February 3, 2012.)