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Spam Laws Worldwide: Indonesia
Posted by Rebecca Bolin on Friday, February 13 @ 17:11:30 EST Governance
In Indonesia, spam doesn’t have such a bad rap. Under the strict Suharto regime, Indonesia was disproportionately well-wired, giving Internet access to even the most remote islands. Many ironically claim this allowed message boards and mass e-mailing to organize his downfall in 1998.

Today, Indonesia still has no spam regulations. It also sends relatively little spam, though what is sent seems weighted with fraud and viruses. Spam seems to be low on Indonesia’s priority list. Its government resources are targeted at widespread fraud, copyright infringement, and software piracy, though the success of its neighbors' spam regulation might inspire similar measures soon.

In 1998, Indonesia was leading the region in Internet use. The family of Suharto had wired even the most remote islands. Internet access was more readily available than in Vietnam, Burma, China, or Singapore. 100,000 people were estimated to have regular internet access in 1998. The dominant Indonesian language uses Roman characters, so Indonesia’s use of message boards and other internet communications was seamless. This allowed the more wealthy to easily organize with essentially unregulated communication, highly critical of the government. Many believe that mass email was critical in the overthrow of the Suharto regime in 1998.

In 2002, Indonesia had a staggering 4.4 million Internet users. Still, Indonesia is unranked as a spam producer, though many cite it is a frequent source of fraud and viruses. Some Indonesian ISPs are blacklisted by spam-blocking efforts, but there seems to be larger concern with fraudulent financial transactions than spam.

Estimates claim 92% of software in Indonesia is pirated. Copyright regulation seems much more pressing. In July 2003, new laws imposed fines for copyright infringement in a country where pirated DVDs can be bought on the streets easily. This was intended to fight the growing media and software piracy movement. Ireland also accused Indonesia of digitally attacking the Ireland-based East Timor .tp domain as a protest to independence of the Indonesian occupied area. Indonesian media in paper and online has traditionally been among the most free in the area, though there are restrictions on foreign journalists.

Indonesia currently has no spam legislation yet, but claims to be working toward new laws. The Office of State's Minister of Communications and Information claims to have drafted a bill, but its details are unclear.

For other countries, see the Spam Laws Worldwide Index.

 
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