ON TUESDAY, Indonesia’s parliament passed a new information bill, limiting access to pornographic, violent or ethnically hostile sites. The country, which has an 85 per cent Muslim majority, has been bitterly divided over the subject of pornography over the last few years.

Under the new legislation, dubbed the Electronic Information and Transactions Law, Indonesia’s courts will also now be allowed to accept electronic material and data as evidence in cases related to improper use of the Internet. Reuters says that the new laws also stipulate that any person caught sending out porn, “false news” or racial or religious slurs on the Web could face six years of jail time or a 1 billion rupiah ($109,000) fine.

Information Minister Mohammad Nuh told journalists "There's no way we can save this nation by spreading pornography, violence and ethnic hostility," he also reckoned that the bill had been drafted after pressure from the public.

The Indonesian government will start censoring the Internet next month with specialised software and says it may even ban some sites outright. µ

L'Inq
Reuters