C-D18-00223: INDONESIA BLOCKS YOUTUBE, MYSPACE,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000719 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/PD, DRL/AWH, EEB/CIP/BA NSC FOR E.PHU USTR FOR K.EHLERS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KPAO ECPS EINT ID SUBJECT: C-D18-00223: INDONESIA BLOCKS YOUTUBE, MYSPACE, OVER ANTI-ISLAMIC FILM REF: A. JAKARTA 717 ¶B. JAKARTA 674 ¶C. JAKARTA 655 ¶D. STATE 20822 ¶1. (U) This message is Sensitive but Unclassified. Please protect the business sensitive information in paras 4-5. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: The GOI beginning April 8 ordered internet service providers in Indonesia to block YouTube, MySpace, and a handful of other websites containing the anti-Islamic film "Fitna." The Ministry of Communication and Information ordered that the sites be blocked in Indonesia until the sites themselves removed the film. Critics saw this as a move that, if continued, would hamper the free flow of information. The GOI took the step in order to get out in front of concerns sparked by the film's release. Mission is concerned by the action and will discuss it with GOI interlocutors. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (U) GOI TEMPORARILY BANS WEBSITES: On April 8, Indonesia's internet service providers blocked at least eight websites showing the anti-Islamic film "Fitna" in response to an order issued last week by the Ministry of Communication and Information. The GOI took the action so that no one in Indonesia can view the anti-Islamic film "Fitna." ¶4. (SBU) LETTER TO YOUTUBE: On April 9, Jake Hubert of Google's Asian Government Affairs office told econoff that YouTube received a letter from Communication and Information Minister Mohammad Nuh on April 3. The letter requested YouTube to take down 3,000 "Fitna" videos found on the website. (Note: a search for "Fitna" on the YouTube site produced 3,070 hits, the vast majority of which are commentary and not video or excerpts of video.) The letter also threatened that the Ministry will instruct Indonesian internet service providers to block the YouTube website until all 3,000 videos are taken down. ¶5. (SBU) A CASE FOR DIALOGUE: Later that day, Google's Director of Public Policy Andrew McLaughlin held a phone conference with Director General of Information Technology Cahyana Ahmadjayadi to discuss the issue. Google representatives told Ahmadjayadi that "blocking YouTube was not the way to resolve this" and moreover, there was a genuine dialogue taking place on the website about the "Fitna" film, including a large number of critics of the film. ¶6. (SBU) Google representatives also said they would follow local law regarding the issue and that their local counsel was still researching it. Hubert told us, "We're not acknowledging that the 'Fitna' video violates Indonesian law." In response to the letter, Google has asked the Ministry to provide a complete list of videos that they want YouTube to block. Hubert described the meeting as positive and said, "We do feel we're making good progress. We've opened a line of communication." Google has requested a follow up meeting with either Nuh or Ahmadjayadi and, as of April 9, they were waiting for a response. ¶7. (SBU) REASONS FOR CONCERN FOR MEDIA FREEDOM: Media advocates condemned the government's request to block access to the websites, seeing the action as governmental control of access to information. The Indonesian Constitution protects public access to information and all means of communication. Advocates said the government is restricting this right by blocking the websites, albeit temporarily. In protest, the Independent Journalists Alliance (AJI) called for the Information Minister to resign. ¶8. (SBU) The GOI took the step in order to get out in front of concerns sparked by the film's release among some Muslim groups (see reftels). Mission is concerned by the action and will discuss it with GOI interlocutors. In an odd juxtaposition, the GOI move to limit media freedom comes at the same time that the GOI passed a new Freedom of JAKARTA 00000719 002 OF 002 Information Act which increases public access to government information (ref A). HUME