GUIDELINES FOR ONLINE MEDIA REPORTING

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Freedom of expression, freedom of opinion, 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 an integral part of these freedoms.

Given the unique characteristics of online media, specific guidelines are required to ensure that its management and operations are carried out professionally, fulfilling its functions, rights, and responsibilities 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 operators, and the public, has established the following Guidelines for Online Media Reporting:

 

  1. Scope
  2. Online Media refers to all forms of media that utilize the internet and conduct journalistic activities while fulfilling the requirements of the Press Law and the Press Company Standards set by the Press Council.
    b. User-Generated Content (UGC) refers to any material created and/or published by users of online media, including articles, images, comments, audio, videos, and other uploaded content such as blogs, forums, and reader/viewer comments.

 

  1. News Verification and Balance
  2. In principle, all news must be verified.
    b. News that may harm any party must be verified within the same report to ensure accuracy and balance.
    c. Exceptions to point (a) are permitted under the following conditions:
  1. The news is of urgent public interest;
  2. The first source of information is clearly identified, credible, and competent;
  3. The subject of the news cannot be located or interviewed;
  4. The media must provide a note to readers stating that the news requires further verification, which will be conducted as soon as possible. This explanation must appear at the end of the article in italics and within parentheses.
    d. After publishing news under condition (c), the media is obliged to continue the verification process and, once verified, update the news with a clear link to the previous unverified version.

 

  1. User-Generated Content (UGC)
  2. Online media must clearly display terms and conditions regarding user-generated content that comply with the Press Law and Journalistic Code of Ethics.
    b. Users must register and log in before publishing any content.
    c. During registration, users must agree in writing that their published content will:
  1. Not contain false, defamatory, violent, or obscene material;
  2. Not contain prejudice, hate speech, or incitement of violence related to ethnicity, religion, race, or intergroup relations (SARA);
  3. Not contain discriminatory content based on gender or language, or demean individuals with disabilities, illness, or poverty.
    d. Online media reserves the absolute right to edit or remove any user content that violates point (c).
    e. Online media must provide an accessible complaint mechanism for reporting user-generated content that violates point (c).
    f. Media must edit, delete, or take corrective action on reported violations within a maximum of 2 x 24 hours after receiving the complaint.
    g. Media that fulfills points (a), (b), (c), and (f) is not legally responsible for issues arising from user content that violates point (c).
    h. Media will be held accountable if no corrective action is taken within the stipulated time.

 

  1. Corrections, Clarifications, and Right of Reply
  2. Corrections, clarifications, and rights of reply follow the Press Law, Journalistic Code of Ethics, and Right of Reply Guidelines established by the Press Council.
    b. Corrections and rights of reply must be linked to the original news.
    c. Each correction or right of reply must include the date and time of publication.
    d. If a report is distributed by another online media outlet:
  1. The original publisher’s responsibility is limited to the content published on its own platform;
  2. Corrections made by the original media must also be followed by any other media that quoted or republished the content;
  3. Media that republishes content without following the correction will bear full legal responsibility.
    e. In accordance with the Press Law, any online media that fails to honor the right of reply may face a maximum fine of IDR 500,000,000 (five hundred million rupiah).

 

  1. Retraction of News
  2. Published news cannot be retracted due to external censorship, except for cases involving SARA, morality, child protection, victims’ trauma, or other specific reasons approved by the Press Council.
    b. Other media must retract quoted content from the original source if the source has retracted it.
    c. Retraction must be accompanied by a clear explanation and made public.

 

  1. Advertising
  2. Online media must clearly distinguish between editorial content and advertisements.
    b. Any paid or sponsored content must be labeled as “advertorial,” “advertisement,” “ads,” “sponsored,” or another equivalent term.

 

  1. Copyright

Online media must respect copyright laws in accordance with applicable regulations.

 

  1. Publication of Guidelines

Online media are required to display these Guidelines for Online Media Reporting clearly and visibly on their platform.

 

  1. Dispute Resolution

Final decisions regarding disputes over the implementation of these guidelines will be made by the Press Council.

 

Jakarta, February 3, 2012
(These guidelines were signed by the Press Council and the Indonesian press community in Jakarta on February 3, 2012.)