Freedom of opinion, freedom of expression, and freedom of the press are human rights protected by Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The existence of cyber media in Indonesia is also part of the freedom of opinion, freedom of expression, and freedom of the press.
Cyber media possesses unique characteristics, thus requiring guidelines to ensure its management is carried out professionally, fulfilling its functions, rights, and obligations in accordance with Law Number 40 of 1999 concerning the Press and the Journalistic Code of Ethics. Therefore, the Press Council, together with press organizations, cyber media managers, and the public, has compiled the following Guidelines for Cyber Media Reporting:
1. Scope
Cyber Media is any form of media that uses the internet and carries out journalistic activities, as well as meeting the requirements of the Press Law and the Press Company Standards established by the Press Council.
User Generated Content is all content created and/or published by cyber media users, including, among others, articles, images, comments, audio, video, and various forms of uploads attached to cyber media, such as blogs, forums, reader or viewer comments, and other forms.
2. Verification and Balance of News
a. In principle, every news item must go through verification. b. News that may harm other parties requires verification of the same news to meet the principles of accuracy and balance. c. The provisions in point (a) above are excluded, provided that:
The news truly contains matters of urgent public interest;
The primary source of the news is a clearly identified, credible, and competent source;
The subject of the news that must be confirmed is unknown or cannot be interviewed;
The media provides an explanation to the reader that the news still requires further verification, which will be pursued as soon as possible. The explanation is placed at the end of the same news item, in parentheses and in italics. d. After publishing news in accordance with point (c), the media is obligated to continue verification efforts, and once verification is obtained, the results must be included in an updated news item with a link to the unverified news.
3. User Generated Content
a. Cyber media is obligated to include terms and conditions regarding User Generated Content that do not contradict Law No. 40 of 1999 concerning the Press and the Journalistic Code of Ethics, placed clearly and conspicuously. b. Cyber media requires every user to register for membership and go through a log-in process before being able to publish any form of User Generated Content. Provisions regarding log-in will be regulated further. c. In such registration, cyber media requires users to provide written consent that the published User Generated Content:
Does not contain false, defamatory, sadistic, or obscene content;
Does not contain content that incites prejudice and hatred related to ethnicity, religion, race, and intergroup relations (SARA), and does not advocate acts of violence;
Does not contain discriminatory content based on gender and language, and does not degrade the dignity of the weak, poor, sick, mentally disabled, or physically disabled. d. Cyber media has the absolute authority to edit or delete User Generated Content that contradicts point (c). e. Cyber media is obligated to provide a complaint mechanism for User Generated Content deemed to violate the provisions in point (c). This mechanism must be provided in a place that is easily accessible to users. f. Cyber media is obligated to edit, delete, and take corrective actions for any reported User Generated Content that violates the provisions of point (c), as soon as possible and proportionally, no later than 2 x 24 hours after the complaint is received. g. Cyber media that has fulfilled the provisions in points (a), (b), (c), and (f) is not held liable for problems caused by the loading of content that violates the provisions in point (c). h. Cyber media is responsible for reported User Generated Content if it fails to take corrective action after the time limit stated in point (f).
4. Retractions, Corrections, and Right of Reply
a. Retractions, corrections, and the right of reply refer to the Press Law, the Journalistic Code of Ethics, and the Guidelines for the Right of Reply established by the Press Council. b. Retractions, corrections, and/or rights of reply must be linked to the news item that is being retracted, corrected, or given a right of reply. c. In every news item regarding a retraction, correction, or right of reply, the time of publication of such retraction, correction, and/or right of reply must be stated. d. If a specific cyber media news item is disseminated by other cyber media, then:
The responsibility of the cyber media that created the news is limited to the news published on that cyber media or other cyber media under its technical authority;
Corrections made by one cyber media must also be made by other cyber media that quoted the news from the corrected cyber media;
Media that disseminates news from a cyber media and does not make corrections to the news in accordance with what was done by the original owner and/or creator of the news is fully responsible for all legal consequences of the uncorrected news. e. In accordance with the Press Law, cyber media that does not serve the right of reply can be subject to criminal sanctions in the form of a fine of up to Rp500,000,000 (five hundred million rupiah).
5. Retraction of News
a. News that has been published cannot be retracted due to censorship reasons from parties outside the editorial staff, except for matters related to SARA, morality, the future of children, the traumatic experiences of victims, or based on other special considerations determined by the Press Council. b. Other cyber media are obligated to follow the retraction of a news excerpt from the original media that has been retracted. c. The retraction of news must be accompanied by the reason for the retraction and announced to the public.
6. Advertising
a. Cyber media is obligated to strictly distinguish between news products and advertisements. b. Every news item/article/content that is an advertisement and/or paid content must include the labels "advertorial," "iklan," "ads," "sponsored," or other words that explain that the news/article/content is an advertisement.
7. Copyright
Cyber media is obligated to respect copyright as regulated in the applicable laws and regulations.
8. Inclusion of Guidelines
Cyber media is obligated to include these Guidelines for Cyber Media Reporting on their media clearly and conspicuously.
9. Disputes
The final assessment of disputes regarding the implementation of these Guidelines for Cyber Media Reporting is resolved by the Press Council.
Jakarta, February 3, 2012 (These guidelines were signed by the Press Council and the press community in Jakarta, February 3, 2012).
