Preamble
Freedom of opinion, freedom of expression, and freedom of the press are fundamental human rights protected by Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution, and the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Digital media in Indonesia constitutes an integral part of these freedoms.
Given their unique characteristics, digital media require specific guidelines to ensure professional management while fulfilling their function, rights, and obligations in accordance with Law No. 40 of 1999 concerning the Press and the Journalistic Code of Ethics. Therefore, the Press Council, together with press organizations, digital media platforms, and the public, has established these Guidelines for Digital Media as follows:
Scope
(a) Digital Media encompasses all media platforms utilizing the Internet for journalistic activities, complying with the Press Law and Press Company Standards established by the Press Council.
(b) User-Generated Content includes all content created and/or published by users of digital media, such as articles, images, comments, audio, video, and other forms of uploads attached to digital media, including blogs, forums, reader/viewer comments, and similar formats.
News Verification and Balance
(a) As a principle, all news must undergo verification.
(b) News that may harm other parties requires verification within the same report to ensure accuracy and balance.
(c) Exceptions to point (a) are permitted under the following conditions:
- The news genuinely concerns urgent public interest.
- The primary news source is clearly identified, credible, and competent.
- The subject of the news is unavailable for confirmation or interview.
- The media provides an explanation to readers that further verification is required and will be pursued promptly. This explanation shall be included at the end of the same article, in parentheses and italics.
(d) After publishing under point (c), the media must continue verification efforts. Once obtained, the verification results shall be included in an updated article with a link to the unverified report.
User-Generated Content
(a) Digital media must clearly publish terms and conditions for User-Generated Content that do not conflict with Law No. 40 of 1999 concerning the Press and the Journalistic Code of Ethics.
(b) Digital media must require user registration and log-in prior to publishing any User-Generated Content. Log-in specifications will be further regulated.
(c) During registration, digital media must require users to provide written consent that published User-Generated Content:
- Does not contain falsehoods, defamation, sadistic, or obscene material.
- Does not contain content reflecting prejudice and hatred related to ethnicity, religion, race, and inter-group relations (SARA), nor advocate violence.
- Does not contain discriminatory content based on gender or language, nor demean the dignity of the vulnerable, poor, sick, mentally or physically disabled.
(d) Digital media holds absolute authority to edit or remove User-Generated Content violating point (c).
(e) Digital media must provide a complaint mechanism for User-Generated Content alleged to violate point (c). This mechanism must be easily accessible to users.
(f) Digital media must edit, remove, or correct any reported User-Generated Content violating point (c) promptly and proportionally, within a maximum of 2×24 hours after receiving the complaint.
(g) Digital media fulfilling points (a), (b), (c), and (f) is not liable for issues arising from content violating point (c).
(h) Digital media is responsible for reported User-Generated Content if no corrective action is taken within the timeframe specified in point (f).
Corrections, Retractions, and Right of Reply
Corrections, retractions, and the right of reply refer to the Press Law, Journalistic Code of Ethics, and the Right of Reply Guidelines established by the Press Council. Corrections, retractions, and/or right of reply must be linked to the respective article. The time of publication for any correction, retraction, and/or right of reply must be indicated.
If content from one digital media platform is disseminated by another:
- The originating digital media’s responsibility is limited to its own publication or platforms under its technical authority.
- Corrections made by the originating digital media must also be executed by other platforms that cited the content.
- Media disseminating content from another digital media platform that fails to implement corresponding corrections assumes full legal responsibility for the uncorrected content.
In accordance with the Press Law, digital media failing to facilitate the right of reply may be subject to criminal sanctions with a maximum fine of Rp 500,000,000 (Five Hundred Million Rupiah).
News Retraction
(a) Published news cannot be retracted due to external censorship, except concerning issues of SARA, public morality, children’s welfare, traumatic experiences of victims, or other specific considerations determined by the Press Council.
(b) Other digital media must follow the retraction of cited content from the original source.
- Retractions must be accompanied by a clear reason and announced to the public.
Advertising
(a) Digital media must clearly distinguish between news content and advertisements.
(b) Any news/article/content that is advertising or paid content must be labeled as “advertorial,” “advertisement,” “ads,” “sponsored,” or other terms indicating its commercial nature.
Copyright
Digital media must respect copyrights as stipulated by applicable laws and regulations.
Implementation of Guidelines
Digital media must clearly publish these Guidelines for Digital Media on their platform.
Dispute Resolution
Final assessment of disputes regarding the implementation of these Guidelines shall be resolved by the Press Council.
Jakarta, 3 February 2012
(These Guidelines were signed by the Press Council and the press community in Jakarta, 3 February 2012)
