Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia’s Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi) Ministry blocked 43,063 pieces of digital content related to online gambling, which is illegal in Indonesia, between January 1 and 6 this year.
In her office’s statement received in Jakarta on Tuesday, Molly Prabawaty, Komdigi Ministry’s Acting Director General of Public Communication and Media, noted that the items included social media accounts and websites.
“President Prabowo Subianto and Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid have emphasized the urgency to protect our youngsters from online gambling, online loans, and other negative items of content in the digital space,” she stressed.
Prabawaty then highlighted that from October 20, 2024, to January 6, 2025, the Komidigi Ministry blocked as many as 711,522 similar items in response to reports received from the public and institutions.
The breakdown includes 652,147 items identified on websites and IP addresses, 29,964 on Meta platforms, 17,836 on file-sharing platforms, 6,842 on Google and YouTube, 4,075 on X, 435 on Telegram, and 219 on TikTok.
She added that the government has taken down a total of around 5.5 million online gambling-related digital advertisements since 2017.
The director general further stated that her side had blocked various social media accounts, particularly on Instagram, found leveraging their large numbers of followers to promote online gambling sites.
She then observed that effective online gambling prevention requires the active participation of members of the community, especially parents.
On that note, the official called on parents to ensure that their children are not exposed to video games associated with online gambling activities.
“Let us accord priority to the monitoring of the digital space to ensure that our children grow up healthily and are protected from the threats of online gambling,” she stated.
Prabawaty then appealed to members of the public to report online gambling-related digital items to the authorities via www.aduankonten.id, WhatsApp 0811-9224-545, and the anti-online gambling chatbot 0811-1001-5080.
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Translator: Farhan A, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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