Cyber Media Guidelines

Freedom of opinion, freedom of expression, and freedom of the press are human rights protected by the Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations. The existence of cyber media in Indonesia is also part of these freedoms.

Cyber media has unique characteristics that require specific guidelines to ensure professional management that fulfills its functions, rights, and obligations in accordance with Law No. 40 of 1999 concerning the Press and the Journalistic Code of Ethics. For that reason, the Press Council, together with press organizations, cyber media managers, and the public, have established the following Guidelines for Cyber Media Reporting:

1. Scope

Cyber Media refers to all forms of media that use the internet as a platform and carry out journalistic activities, meeting the requirements of the Press Law and the Press Company Standards set by the Press Council.
User Generated Content (UGC) refers to all content created and/or published by users of cyber media, including but not limited to articles, images, comments, audio, videos, and various forms of uploads attached to cyber media platforms such as blogs, forums, reader or viewer comments, and other similar forms.

2. Verification and News Balance

In principle, every news report must go through a verification process.
News that may harm other parties requires verification in the same report to fulfill the principles of accuracy and balance.

Exceptions to point (a) above are allowed under the following conditions:

The news contains an urgent public interest.
The primary source of the news is clearly identified, credible, and competent.
The subject of the news cannot be located and/or interviewed.
The media provides an explanation to readers that the report still requires further verification, which will be pursued as soon as possible. This note must be placed at the end of the report, in parentheses and italicized.
After publishing a report under point (c), the media must continue efforts to verify, and once verification is obtained, the result must be included in an updated version of the report, with a link to the original unverified version.

3. User Generated Content

Cyber media must display clear and accessible terms and conditions for User Generated Content (UGC) that do not contradict Law No. 40 of 1999 concerning the Press and the Journalistic Code of Ethics.
Cyber media must require users to register and log in before they can publish any form of UGC. The login procedures will be further regulated.

During registration, users must provide written consent that their content will not:

Contain false, defamatory, sadistic, or obscene material;
Contain prejudice or hatred related to ethnicity, religion, race, and inter-group relations (SARA), nor incite violence;
Contain discriminatory material based on gender or language, nor demean the dignity of the weak, poor, sick, mentally disabled, or physically disabled individuals.

Further provisions:

Cyber media has the absolute right to edit or delete any UGC that violates point (c).
Cyber media must provide an easily accessible complaint mechanism for reporting UGC that violates point (c).
Cyber media must edit, delete, and correct any reported UGC that violates point (c) as soon as possible and no later than 2 × 24 hours after receiving the complaint.
Cyber media that comply with points (a), (b), (c), and (f) shall not be held responsible for any issues arising from the publication of such content.
Cyber media shall be held responsible if no corrective action is taken after the time limit specified in point (f).

4. Corrections, Clarifications, and Right of Reply

Corrections, clarifications, and the right of reply refer to the Press Law, the Journalistic Code of Ethics, and the Right of Reply Guidelines established by the Press Council.
Corrections, clarifications, and/or right of reply must be linked to the original report being corrected, clarified, or responded to.
Every correction, clarification, and right of reply must include the time of publication.

If a report published by one cyber media outlet is disseminated by another:

The responsibility of the original cyber media is limited to content published on its own platform or within its technical authority;
Corrections made by the original cyber media must also be made by any cyber media that cited the original report;
Any cyber media that disseminates a report from another media but fails to make the same correction shall bear full legal responsibility for the uncorrected report;
In accordance with the Press Law, any cyber media that refuses to serve the right of reply may be subject to a criminal fine of up to Rp 500,000,000 (five hundred million rupiah).

5. News Retraction

Published reports cannot be withdrawn due to censorship by external parties, except in cases involving SARA issues, morality, the future of minors, victims’ traumatic experiences, or other specific considerations determined by the Press Council.
Other cyber media must follow the retraction of quoted reports from the original media.
Retractions must be accompanied by the reasons for withdrawal and publicly announced.

6. Advertising

Cyber media must clearly distinguish between news content and advertisements.
Any article or content that is paid or sponsored must be explicitly labeled with “advertorial,” “advertisement,” “ads,” “sponsored,” or other equivalent terms.

7. Copyright

Cyber media must respect copyright in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

8. Publication of Guidelines

Cyber media must display these Cyber Media Reporting Guidelines clearly and visibly on their platform.

9. Disputes

Final assessment and resolution of disputes concerning the implementation of these Guidelines shall be carried out by the Press Council.

Jakarta, February 3, 2012

This guideline was signed by the Press Council and the press community in Jakarta on February 3, 2012.

Cyber ​​Media Guidelines