VTubers and Gamers Affected by Indonesia's Website Ban
The VTuber community in Indonesia is facing the effects of the country's ban on gaming platforms, with Ayunda Risu accessing Steam in offline mode.
The VTuber community in Indonesia is facing the effects of the country's ban on gaming platforms, with Risu Ayunda accessing Steam in offline mode when the platform was temporarily banned.
I can still access steam on offline mode but at what cost...
— Ayunda Risu(リス)🐿@ホロライブID|Harapan Panpanpan! (@ayunda_risu) July 30, 2022
The Government of Indonesia requires major platforms referred to as electronic system providers (PSE, Penyelenggara Sistem Elektronik) to register in their database or risk a website block. Websites that facilitate online transactions and send paid digital goods to users' devices are also affected.
Reuters reports that regulations enacted in late November 2020 empower Indonesia's government to force platforms to disclose data of certain users and take down unlawful content. The government said these regulations were set to ensure a positive online environment.
As of press time, several websites including Reddit and Epic Games are blocked in the country. As of August 2, Epic Games is still banned in the country. PayPal is used by artists as a payment gateway for commissions, and it being temporarily blocked in the country made Airani Iofifteen nervous.
Yopi yang mau bayar bayar commission pake paypal gabisa dan sekarang ketar ketir 👁👄👁
— Airani iofifteen (イオフィ)🎨hololiveID (@airaniiofifteen) July 30, 2022
Jakarta Globe reports that the Director General of Applied Information Technology Ministry Semuel Abrijanikata from the country's Ministry of Communication and Information Technology said close to 9,000 tech companies have registered their platforms with the government.
Most social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Tiktok, and Twitter are unaffected.
Photo by Mufid Majnun on Unsplash · Updated August 19, 2022 to reflect recent developments