Star Metro - Under blackout threat, Wikimedia to hold talks with Indonesia

A meeting will take place next week to discuss Indonesia's demands for Wikimedia to register as an "electronic system provider" (PSE), the Wikipedia parent company said in a statement sent to AFP.

Under a 2020 regulation, all PSE companies, including those based outside the country, are required to register for what the government says are for legal and user protection purposes.

Critics have pointed to a provision that requires registered PSEs to take down content deemed as "causing public unrest and disturbing public order" as a free speech restriction.

The government on Wednesday gave the foundation seven days to register or face its services, including Wikipedia Indonesia, being blocked in the country of 284 million people.

"We intend to explain the Foundation's unique position as a nonprofit technology host for Wikipedia... and the significant ways that registration under Indonesia's MR5 regulation departs from international human rights norms and threatens the privacy and security of Wikipedia editors," the foundation's statement said.

It added "we will resist inappropriate orders, and we push back on laws that require very rapid and guaranteed disclosure of user data without the ability to raise appropriate legal objections".

A blockage of Wikipedia in Indonesia will "deny the fourth most populous country in the world access to the largest free knowledge repository", the statement said.

The Communication and Digital Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Earlier in the week, the ministry said the Wikimedia Foundation had repeatedly sought extensions to registration.

Last October, Indonesia briefly suspended TikTok's local operating licence after the social media platform refused to share information sought by Jakarta about violent anti-government protests earlier in the year.

D.Fraser--SMC