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Registration is required under rules released in late November
2020 and will give authorities broad powers to compel platforms
to disclose data of certain users, and take down content deemed
unlawful or that "disturbs public order" within four hours if
urgent and 24 hours if not.
Several tech companies had rushed to register in days leading to
the deadline, which had been extended until Friday, including
Alphabet Inc's, Meta Platforms Inc's Facebook, Instagram and
WhatsApp and Amazon.com Inc.
Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, a senior official at Indonesia's
Communications Ministry, said in a text message websites that
have been blocked include Yahoo, Paypal and gaming sites like
Steam, Dota2, Counter-Strike and EpicGames, among others.
Paypal, Yahoo's parent private equity firm Apollo Global
Management and U.S. game developer Valve Corporation, which runs
Steam, Dota and Counter-Strike, did not immediately respond to
requests for comment. EpicGames could not be reached for
comment.
Hashtags like "BlokirKominfo" (block Communication Ministry),
Epic Games and Paypal trended on Indonesian Twitter, with many
writing messages criticising the government's move as hurting
Indonesia's online gaming industry and freelance workers who use
Paypal.
Pangerapan did not respond to a request for comment.
With an estimated 191 million internet users and a young,
social-media savvy population, the Southeast Asian nation is a
significant market for a host of tech platforms.
(Reporting by Gayatri Suroyo; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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