Indonesia’s parliament is proposing amendments to its broadcast rules that would prohibit investigative journalism and LGBT content.
According to the report, civil society groups and filmmakers have criticised the initiatives for restricting press freedom and artistic expression.
Changes to the 2002 broadcast law were originally considered in 2020, but the contents of the most recent revisions have raised concerns, with Indonesia’s Press Council claiming they will damage media independence.
Meanwhile, the government is yet to receive the draft bill, communications minister, Budi Setiadi told newsmen, adding the revisions must not muzzle media freedom.
The planned curbs on journalism in the world’s third-largest democracy would harm freedom of expression and hard-won liberties since Indonesia emerged from decades of authoritarian rule in 1998, journalism and civil society organisations say.
The bill does not provide details on the proposed ban on investigative reporting and how it might work, but journalist groups were concerned about censorship.
Additionally, the bill has drawn criticism also because it seeks to ban content displaying violence, mysticism, LGBT, or “negative behaviour or lifestyles that potentially harm the public”.
Prominent filmmaker Joko Anwar slammed the proposal, describing it as “dangerous” and “impossible” to implement.
“The ban on such content not only impedes the creativity of the creative industry, and freedom of the press, but also undermines people’s capacity to filter what they watch,” he said.
However, legislators from commission 1, which is overseeing the bill, have stressed the bill’s revisions are in the initial phases and subject to change.
Homosexuality is a taboo subject in Indonesia, one of the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nations, where it is illegal in the sharia-ruled Aceh province.
Report says if passed, the changes would apply to all content broadcast in Indonesia, including online streaming platforms.
