JAKARTA, Indonesia — An American man is being held for allegedly producing and distributing pornographic content in Indonesia via social media, according to Indonesian national news agency Antara and other sources.
Reports from the Associated Press and the Washington Post identify the man in custody as Taylor Kirby Whitemore.
According to Antara, Whitemore entered Indonesia in January. While on the island of Bali, he allegedly “sought individuals to participate in pornographic videos” and was arrested on March 25.
Antara quoted Indonesia’s Minister of Immigration and Corrections Agus Andrianto as calling the arrest part of the country’s ongoing efforts against “violations of moral norms.”
“Immigration confiscated evidence of electronic devices, such as cameras and other image recording devices, mobile phones, tablets, and external hard disks used to store pornographic videos,” Antara reported. “From the evidence, hundreds of amateur-quality videos were found.”
Whitemore is currently being held in a Jakarta detention center, awaiting processing for his criminal case. He reportedly faces up to five years' imprisonment and a potential fine of up to $30,000.
The AP quoted immigration official Yuldi Yusman as saying that Whitemore was linked to accounts on X and Telegram that “promoted and processed transactions for paid pornographic content,” and that the arrest followed a digital forensic investigation using face recognition technology.
As XBIZ has reported, police in the province of Bali are particularly notorious for arresting influencers and other people making and sharing content online under Indonesia’s harsh 2008 obscenity law, “Law 44.” Content creators and streamers have encountered legal trouble in Indonesia, as well as in other countries where obscenity laws remain strict, such as Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.
Recurring arrests in these and other countries serve as reminders that adult performers, producers and creators traveling away from their home regions should always be aware of the laws and penalties for the production or distribution of anything that local authorities could consider to be pornographic or obscene.