Indonesia blocks Yahoo, Paypal, gaming websites over licence breaches

Jakarta, Jul 30 (BUS): Indonesia has blocked search engine website Yahoo, payments company Paypal and several gaming websites for non-compliance with licensing rules, an official in Indonesia said on Saturday, sparking a backlash in social media.

Registration is required under the rules issued in late November 2020 and will give authorities broad powers to force platforms to disclose some users’ data, and to remove content deemed illegal or “disturbing public order” within four hours if urgent and 24 hours if It wasn’t, Reuters reports.

Several tech companies scrambled to sign up in the days before the deadline, which was extended through Friday, including Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Amazon.com Inc. AMZN).O).

The websites that have been blocked include Yahoo, PayPal and gaming sites such as Steam, Dota2, Counter-Strike, EpicGames and others, Simuel Abrijani Panjirapan, a senior official at Indonesia’s Ministry of Communications, said in a text message.

PayPal, Yahoo’s parent private equity firm Apollo Global Management, and US game developer Valve Corporation, which operates Steam, Dota and Counter-Strike, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. EpicGames could not be reached for comment.

Hashtags such as “BlokirKominfo” (Block of the Ministry of Communications), Epic Games and Paypal spread on Indonesian Twitter, with several messages criticizing the government’s move as harming Indonesia’s online gaming industry and freelancers who use Paypal.

Panjrapan did not respond to a request for comment.

With an estimated 191 million internet users and young people who are social media savvy, the Southeast Asian country is an important market for a range of tech platforms.

M