CYBER MEDIA GUIDELINES

PRESS COUNCIL REGULATION

GUIDELINES FOR ONLINE MEDIA REPORTING

Freedom of opinion, freedom of expression, and freedom of the press are human rights protected by Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations. The existence of online media in Indonesia is also part of the freedom of opinion, expression, and the press.

Online media have special characteristics that require specific guidelines to ensure professional management, fulfilling their functions, rights, and obligations in accordance with Law No. 40 of 1999 on the Press and the Journalistic Code of Ethics. Therefore, the Press Council, together with press organizations, online media managers, and the public, has developed the following Guidelines for Online Media Reporting:

  1. Scope

Online Media refers to all forms of media that use the internet as a platform and conduct journalistic activities, as well as meeting the requirements of the Press Law and the Press Company Standards established by the Press Council.

User Generated Content refers to all content created and/or published by users of online media, including but not limited to articles, images, comments, sounds, videos, and various forms of uploads attached to the online media, such as blogs, forums, reader or viewer comments, and other forms.

  1. Verification and News Balance

In principle, every news item must go through a verification process.

News that may harm other parties must be verified within the same report to ensure accuracy and balance.

Exceptions to the verification requirement may apply if:

a. The news is of urgent public interest;
b. The first source is clearly identified, credible, and competent;
c. The subject of the news to be confirmed is unavailable or cannot be interviewed;
d. The media provides an explanation to readers that the news still requires further verification, which will be pursued as soon as possible. The explanation must be placed at the end of the same article, in parentheses and italics.

After publishing such news, the media must continue efforts to verify, and once verification is obtained, the updated information must be added to the updated (revised) report with a link to the unverified version.

  1. User Generated Content

Online media must provide terms and conditions for User Generated Content that comply with Law No. 40 of 1999 on the Press and the Journalistic Code of Ethics, and display them clearly.

Online media must require users to register and log in before publishing any User Generated Content. The login process will be further regulated.

During registration, users must give written consent that the content they publish:

a. Does not contain false, slanderous, sadistic, or obscene material;
b. Does not contain prejudice or hatred related to ethnicity, religion, race, and inter-group relations (SARA), or encourage violence;
c. Does not contain discriminatory content based on gender or language, and does not demean the dignity of the poor, the sick, the mentally or physically disabled.

Online media have full authority to edit or delete User Generated Content that violates the above provisions.

Online media must provide a complaint mechanism for User Generated Content that violates the above terms. This mechanism must be easily accessible to users.

Online media must edit, delete, or correct any reported User Generated Content that violates these provisions as soon as possible, within no later than 2 x 24 hours after the complaint is received.

Online media that comply with the provisions above shall not be held responsible for issues arising from content that violates these terms.

Online media are responsible for any reported content if they fail to take corrective action within the specified time.

  1. Corrections, Clarifications, and Right of Reply

Corrections, clarifications, and the right of reply refer to the Press Law, the Journalistic Code of Ethics, and the Right of Reply Guidelines established by the Press Council.

Corrections, clarifications, and rights of reply must be linked to the original report being corrected or replied to.

Each correction, clarification, and right of reply must include the date and time it was published.

If a news report from one online media is disseminated by another online media, then:

a. The responsibility of the originating media is limited to the report published on its own site or under its technical authority;
b. Any correction made by the original media must also be carried out by other media that cited the report;
c. Media that distribute the report but fail to correct it in accordance with the originating media are fully responsible for all legal consequences.

In accordance with the Press Law, online media that do not honor the right of reply may be subject to criminal penalties and fines up to Rp500,000,000 (five hundred million rupiah).

  1. Retraction of News

Published news cannot be withdrawn due to external censorship, except for reasons related to SARA (ethnicity, religion, race, inter-group issues), decency, the future of minors, victims’ traumatic experiences, or other special considerations determined by the Press Council.

Other online media must follow the retraction of quoted news from the original media.

A news retraction must include the reason and be announced publicly.

  1. Advertising

Online media must clearly distinguish between news content and advertising.

Any report/article/content that constitutes an advertisement or paid material must clearly display a label such as “advertorial,” “advertisement,” “ads,” “sponsored,” or other equivalent terms.

  1. Copyright

Online media must respect copyright as stipulated by applicable laws and regulations.

  1. Display of Guidelines

Online media must clearly and visibly display these Guidelines for Online Media Reporting on their platforms.

  1. Disputes

The final assessment of any dispute concerning the implementation of these Guidelines shall be resolved by the Press Council.

Jakarta, February 3, 2012
(This guideline was signed by the Press Council and the press community in Jakarta, February 3, 2012)

Source: Press Council (Dewan Pers)

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