JakartaPost-Apr 20, 2026
The Communications and Digital Ministry gave an ultimatum for the nonprofit platform to register as an electronic system provider (PSE) in the country for seven days from April 15 to prevent a permanent block on its projects’ websites. Nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation will meet with the Communications and Digital Ministry after the ministry’s threat to block access to all Wikimedia projects in Indonesia should it fail to register as an electronic system provider (PSE) in the country. In the meeting, which has been scheduled for this week, the foundation will discuss the scope and framework of PSE registration, which is mandatory for all domestic and foreign platforms operating in the country according to a 2020 communications and information ministerial regulation. “We intend to explain the foundation’s unique position as a nonprofit technology host for Wikipedia, a community-built knowledge project,” a Wikimedia spokesperson said in a statement obtained by The Jakarta Post on Friday. As Wikimedia projects are not commercial and globally run by community volunteers, it argued that applying the regulation to the foundation “departs from international human rights norms and threatens the privacy and security of Wikipedia editors”. Wikimedia also reaffirmed its commitment to protecting user privacy and data, as outlined in its privacy policy, which it said “works with most jurisdictions around the world”. “We resist inappropriate orders, and we push back on the laws that require very rapid and guaranteed disclosure of user data without the ability to raise appropriate legal objections.” Blocking Wikipedia, the foundation added, would deny Indonesians access to the “largest free knowledge repository” and, at the same time, “deprive everyone access to Indonesia’s knowledge, history and culture”. The move was part of efforts to “enforce orderly and fair digital governance”, said the ministry’s digital space supervision director general Alexander Sabar, with the move aimed to protect the public while also “providing legal protection for Wikimedia itself”. “If there is still no compliance with the Indonesian law, we will take firm action in the form of blocking,” said Alexander, a two-star police general, in the ministry’s statement. Read more at: https://www.thejakartapost.com/indonesia/2026/04/20/wikimedia-to-meet-government-after-access-block-threat.html?utm_source=(direct)&utm_medium=home_indonesia
