Press Council Regulations
GUIDELINES FOR ONLINE MEDIA REPORTING
Freedom of opinion, freedom of expression, and freedom of the press are fundamental human rights protected by Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations. The existence of online media in Indonesia is also part of the freedom of opinion, freedom of expression, and freedom of the press.
Online media has unique characteristics, therefore guidelines are needed so that its management can be carried out professionally, fulfilling its function, rights, and obligations according to Law No. 40 of 1999 on the Press and the Journalistic Code of Ethics. Therefore, the Press Council, in collaboration with press organizations, online media managers, and the community, has compiled the Guidelines for Online Media Reporting as follows:
Scope Online media refers to any form of media that uses the internet medium and carries out journalistic activities, fulfilling the requirements of the Press Law and the Press Company Standards set by the Press Council.
User Generated Content (UGC) refers to any content created and/or published by online media users, including articles, images, comments, audio, video, and other types of uploads associated with online media, such as blogs, forums, reader or viewer comments, and other forms.
Verification and News Balance In principle, every news piece must be verified. News that can harm another party requires verification within the same news to meet the principles of accuracy and balance.
The stipulations in point (a) above can be exempted, provided that:
- The news genuinely contains urgent public interest;
- The primary news source is clearly mentioned, credible, and competent;
- The news subject to be confirmed is unknown or cannot be interviewed;
Media must inform readers that further verification of the news is still required and will be pursued as soon as possible. This explanation is included at the end of the news, in parentheses, and in italics.
After publishing news as per point (c), the media must continue verification efforts. Once verified, the results are included in the updated news, with a link to the unverified news.
User Generated Content (UGC) Online media must state terms and conditions regarding UGC that do not conflict with Law No. 40 of 1999 on the Press and the Journalistic Code of Ethics, clearly and prominently displayed. Online media require users to register and log in before publishing any UGC. The login provisions will be further regulated.
During registration, online media require users to provide written consent that the published UGC: – Does not contain false, slanderous, sadistic, or obscene content; – Does not contain prejudiced or hateful content related to ethnic, religious, racial, and inter-group issues, and does not advocate violence; – Does not contain discriminatory content based on gender and language differences, and does not degrade the dignity of the weak, poor, sick, mentally handicapped, or physically handicapped.
Online media have absolute authority to edit or delete UGC that contradicts point (c).
Online media must provide a complaint mechanism for UGC believed to violate the provisions in point (c). This mechanism must be easily accessible.
Online media must edit, delete, and correct any UGC reported and found violating the stipulations in point (c) as soon as possible, within a maximum of 2 x 24 hours after receiving the complaint.
Online media that have complied with the provisions in points (a), (b), (c), and (f) are not held responsible for issues arising from the publication of content that violates the provisions in point (c).
Online media are responsible for reported UGC if they do not take corrective action within the timeframe specified in point (f).
4. Rectification, Corrections, and Right to Reply Rectification, corrections, and the right to reply refer to the Press Law, Journalistic Code of Ethics, and the Right to Reply Guidelines set by the Press Council.
Rectification, corrections, or the right to reply must be linked to the news being rectified, corrected, or provided with a reply. Each rectification, correction, or reply news must state the time of its publication.
If a specific online media news piece is disseminated by another online media, then: – The responsibility of the original online media is limited to the news published on its platform or platforms under its technical authority; – Corrections made by one online media must also be made by other online media that quoted the corrected news; – Media that disseminate news from another online media and do not make the necessary corrections are fully responsible for all legal consequences of the uncorrected news. – In accordance with the Press Law, online media that do not serve the right to reply can be fined up to IDR 500,000,000 (Five hundred million rupiah).
5. News Retraction News that has been published cannot be withdrawn due to external editorial censorship, except in cases related to ethnic, religious, racial, and inter-group issues, decency, the future of children, the traumatic experience of victims, or based on other special considerations set by the Press Council.
Other online media must follow the retraction of quoted news from the original source that has been withdrawn.
News retraction must be accompanied by reasons and announced to the public.
6. Advertisement Online media must clearly differentiate between news products and advertisements. Each news/article/content that is an advertisement or paid content must carry labels such as .advertorial., .advertisement., .ads., .sponsored., or other terms indicating that the content is an advertisement.
7. Copyright Online media must respect copyright as regulated in applicable laws.
8. Displaying the Guidelines Online media must display these Online Media Reporting Guidelines on their platform clearly and prominently.
9. Disputes Final judgments on disputes regarding the implementation of these Online Media Reporting Guidelines will be resolved by the Press Council.
Jakarta, 3 February 2012 (This guideline was signed by the Press Council and the press community in Jakarta, 3 February 2012).