A screenshot of Oanda.com, a Forex trading site currently blocked by the government
A coalition of non-governmental organizations and individuals is suing the government over the way it is handling the blocking of certain Internet websites (specifically, the lawsuit is aimed at Ministry of Communication and Information Rule No. 19 of 2014). And they are taking their case to the country’s Supreme Court.
Wahyudi Djafar, a researcher at the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam), said the rule should be revoked because the government uses it to block sites that are considered useful by many. One of the sites they specifically mention in the lawsuit is Oanda.com, a site that deal in forex trading but is also used by many for its real time currency conversions.
“The government cannot block sites arbitrarily, violating freedom of information,” Wahyudi said on Monday as quoted by Tempo.
The plaintiffs against the Ministry of Communications include the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR), Elsam, LBH Pers and Information Communication and Technology Watch. The four individual plaintiffs in the suit are Shelly Woyla, Damar Juniarto, Ayu Oktariani, and Suratim.
Shelly Woyla, Wahyudi said, is a businessman who has incurred losses due to Oanda.com being blocked. Shelly told Wahyudi he could not get a clear reason why access to such sites is prohibited. (An article by Nadine Freischlad on the Jakarta Globe investigating the blocking of Oanda.com led to a response from the Communication Ministry stating the site “was blocked on request of the Futures Exchange Supervisory Board (Bappebti) – a government body regulating trade.”)
Suratim said he had lost access to reference material for the visually-impaired because certain sites containing that information had been blocked.
According to Wahyudi, the blocking of sites on the Internet should be based on specific laws, not ministerial regulations, because it relates to human rights. Wahyudi also said the blocking of websites should not be permanent. The coalition of plaintiffs also questioned why the authority to enforce the block was given to the private sector, namely Internet service providers.
Wahyudi said the authority to block sites should be given to an independent body. “For example, journalists are governed by the Press Council. For television, there is the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission. There should be an equivalent for the Internet,” said Wahyudi.
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