Internet censorship in Indonesia

After the online release of the “Peterporn” sex tapes earlier this summer in Indonesia, the government there began panicked talk of Internet censorship to stop this kind of material from appearing for dissemination once more. Even though this predominantly Muslim nation already has anti-pornography laws in place which permit the government to prosecute offenders who post these prohibited materials online, this deterrent has been deemed ineffective after this recent rash of releases. Now along with the support of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was once hesitant about enacting any sort of mass censorship, a new filtration plan has been thrown together in a haphazard way that looks to be neither organized nor sustainable. The government is placing the filtration burden on the ISPs and public access points to the Internet, like cyber cafes. Surprisingly, there has been little-to-no objection from the Indonesian service providers except for concerns over the technical feasibility of the filtration. The government slapped a target date for the blockage of porn sites to become active before the Muslim holy fasting period of Ramadan. With it starting on August 11th this year, the preparation period for these filters was only about one month.