Jakarta. Indonesia is considering blocking the live-streaming app Bigo Live and the messaging platform Telegram due to their alleged involvement in spreading pornography and promoting online gambling.
Communication and Informatics Minister Budi Arie Setiadi revealed that the Ministry has already issued strong warnings to both platforms. However, the responses from Telegram and Bigo Live have been inadequate.
“I would prefer to shut down Bigo Live and Telegram immediately, but a team needs to conduct further studies first,” Budi Arie said in Jakarta on Wednesday.
He emphasized that this is the second warning issued to Bigo Live, and if a third warning is necessary, the Ministry will not hesitate to block the Singapore-based platform.
Advertisement
Despite previous responses from Bigo Live and Telegram, the promised improvements in content moderation and issue resolution have not yet been implemented.
“We act based on evidence collected by our team. If we find evidence of pornography or gambling promotion, we will proceed with blocking the platforms,” Budi Arie added.
In related news, Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, was arrested last Saturday at Le Bourget airport in Paris. The Paris prosecutor’s office reported that Durov faces 12 alleged criminal violations, including complicity in child pornography sales, drug trafficking, fraud, abetting organized crime, and failure to cooperate with investigations.
Additionally, Jakarta Police have arrested a 20-year-old resident from Kendal, Central Java, identified by the initials MAFA, for managing a child pornography group on Telegram.
Tags:
Keywords: