JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia has once again blocked access to porn in the country, this time shutting down nearly 1 million websites just ahead of the Ramadan holy observance that begins on July 19.
This move marks the latest salvo launched against porn in the country. Last February, Minister Tifatul Sembiring’s Communication and Information Ministry blocked another 1 million sites in an effort to stamp out online adult content.
All of the websites hit this time were reportedly run from countries outside of Indonesia and more will be shuttered this month.
"We will block more porn sites during Ramadan, though that doesn't mean that we will allow such sites to operate during the rest of the year," Sembiring said.
The minister said he wants the public’s whistle blowing assistance in helping to block the Internet’s 2 billion porn sites, many of which can still be accessed despite the blockade.
"Online pornography is an industry and the producers always seem to find new ways of escaping detection," he said. “We can not check one by one, so we hope people will actively report to the Communication and Information minister if they find a link to a negative website,” Sembiring said.
Indonesia’s war on porn was also bolstered last March when the government formed its first ever anti-porn task force to monitor and enforce a 2008 law that prohibits the possession, distribution and manufacturing or adult products.
Sembiring said that the latest measures were in line with Indonesia’s Electronic Information and Transaction Law, and Telecommunication Law that targets “negative content” from local computers. The laws define negative content as porn, defamatory speech and malicious viruses like malware and adware.
“We have to ensure people that porn content should be blocked,” Sembiring said.