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A proposed draft bill that seeks to monitor information in cyberspace is raising concerns within the country’s media establishment that the government is taking a leaf out of China’s book in censoring Internet sites its finds offensive. Whether or not this is the intention of the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology is unclear, but the signs are ominous.

Bloggers and media activists already have bristled over the draft legislation, noting that it clashes with the existing media law, which prohibits censorship. The ministry has responded by noting the draft law is intended to deal with increasing cases of Internet abuse.
The newly elected deputy chairman of the Press Council, veteran journalist Bambang Harymurti plans to file an objection with the ministry charging that the draft law fails to differentiate between press and non-press products.

History has taught us that rushing headlong into any piece of legislation can often backfire. While the intentions may be noble, the impact can be hugely negative. Moreover, once passed into law, such legislation is nearly impossible to revoke or amend, as has been proven by the controversial Labor Law, which has had a detrimental impact on businesses and workers themselves.

The ministry should therefore study the impact of the new draft law very carefully before forwarding it to the House of Representatives. It must look at how other countries have dealt with the growth of the Internet and mitigated its negative impacts while maximizing its advantages. China’s standoff with Google is the best example of what not to do. The country’s image has been tarnished and its citizens angered by the government’s attempts to silence its critics.

Given the speed of the Internet and new technology, efforts to close down sites or silence bloggers often fail as savvy users find ways around the firewalls created. People will always find new ways to be heard.

That is not to say that there should be no monitoring of the Internet at all. Too often pornographic sites can corrupt young impressionable minds and tricksters can use the Web to cheat people out of their money and even befriend children online for the purpose of kidnapping.

The ministry must therefore consider all aspects and be clear in its objectives before passing any form of legislation that seeks to monitor and control Internet usage. It must clearly define what it deems illegal content so there will be no misinterpretation of the law.
This is crucial given that under the proposed law a monitoring body will have the authority to block Web sites that publish banned material. It would be much wiser to proceed slowly and carefully, seeking advice and feedback from all parties concerned before coming to a conclusion. The Internet is now a part of daily life and a main channel through which business and commerce flows. Avoiding anything that disrupts this flow of information is critically important.