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Cyber Media Guidelines

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Cyber Media Guidelines

Freedom of opinion, expression, and the press are human rights protected by Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution, and the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The existence of cyber media in Indonesia is also part of these freedoms.

Cyber media has unique characteristics that require specific guidelines to ensure its management is carried out professionally, fulfilling its 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, cyber media managers, and the public, has developed the following Cyber Media Reporting Guidelines:

1. Scope

  1. Cyber Media refers to all forms of media that use the internet platform and engage in journalistic activities, meeting the requirements of the Press Law and the Press Company Standards set by the Press Council.
  2. User Generated Content (UGC) includes all content created and/or published by users of cyber media, such as articles, images, comments, audio, videos, and various uploads attached to cyber media, like blogs, forums, reader/viewer comments, and other forms.

2. News Verification and Balance

  1. In principle, every news item should undergo verification.
  2. News that could potentially harm others requires verification in the same news item to ensure accuracy and balance.
  3. The provision in point (a) can be exempted under the following conditions:
    1. The news contains urgent public interest;
    2. The primary source is clearly identified, credible, and competent;
    3. The subject of the news cannot be located or interviewed;
    4. The media must inform readers that further verification is needed, which will be conducted as soon as possible. This explanation should be placed at the end of the same news article, in italics and parentheses.
  4. After publishing the news as per point (c), the media must continue efforts to verify the information and update the news with the verification results, providing a link to the unverified news.

3. User Generated Content (UGC)

  1. Cyber media must clearly display terms and conditions regarding UGC that comply with Law No. 40 of 1999 on the Press and the Journalistic Code of Ethics.
  2. Cyber media should require users to register and log in before publishing any form of UGC. The login process will be further regulated.
  3. During registration, users must agree in writing that the UGC they publish:
    1. Does not contain false, defamatory, gruesome, or obscene content;
    2. Does not incite prejudice or hatred based on ethnicity, religion, race, and inter-group relations (SARA), or promote violence;
    3. Does not discriminate based on gender or language, and does not demean the dignity of the weak, poor, sick, mentally disabled, or physically disabled.
  4. Cyber media has the absolute authority to edit or delete UGC that violates point (c).
  5. Cyber media must provide a mechanism for reporting UGC that is considered to violate point (c). This mechanism should be easily accessible to users.
  6. Cyber media must edit, delete, and take corrective action on any reported UGC that violates point (c) as soon as possible, no later than 48 hours after the complaint is received.
  7. Cyber media that complies with points (a), (b), (c), and (f) is not held responsible for issues arising from the publication of content that violates point (c).
  8. Cyber media is responsible for reported UGC if it fails to take corrective action within the time frame specified in point (f).

4. Corrections, Clarifications, and Right of Reply

  1. Corrections, clarifications, and the right of reply must adhere to the Press Law, the Journalistic Code of Ethics, and the Right of Reply Guidelines set by the Press Council.
  2. Corrections, clarifications, and/or the right of reply must be linked to the original news item being corrected, clarified, or responded to.
  3. Every correction, clarification, and right of reply must include the time of publication.
  4. If a news article from one cyber media outlet is disseminated by another, then:
    1. The responsibility of the original cyber media outlet is limited to the news published on its platform or those under its technical authority;
    2. Any corrections made by the original cyber media must also be made by other outlets that have quoted the news;
    3. Media that disseminate news from another cyber media outlet and do not make corrections in line with the original outlet are fully responsible for any legal consequences of not making the corrections.
  5. In accordance with the Press Law, cyber media that do not fulfill the right of reply may face legal penalties, including a fine of up to IDR 500,000,000 (Five hundred million rupiah).

5. Retraction of News

  1. Published news cannot be retracted due to external censorship, except in cases related to SARA, decency, the future of children, traumatic experiences of victims, or other special considerations as determined by the Press Council.
  2. Other cyber media must follow the retraction of quotes from the original media that has retracted the news.
  3. News retraction must be accompanied by a reason and announced to the public.

6. Advertisements

  1. Cyber media must clearly distinguish between news content and advertisements.
  2. Any news/article/content that is an advertisement or sponsored content must be labeled as such.