JAKARTA, Feb. 20 — President Joko Widodo has signed the Presidential Regulation (Perpres) on Publishers’ Rights, emphasising the responsibility of digital platforms in supporting quality journalism, which is much anticipated in the industry.
Publisher Rights require digital platforms to pay for news from local and national media, ensuring the media receive compensation when their content is shared online.
Speaking at the National Press (Media) Day celebration, Joko Widodo, or Jokowi, said the Indonesian government is focused on quality journalism and the sustainability of the conventional media industry.
“We also want to ensure the sustainability of the national media industry; we want a fairer cooperation between newspaper companies and digital platforms. We want to provide a clear legal framework,” he said.
However, Jokowi said this initiative is not intended to reduce press freedom since Publishers’ Rights is a newspaper industry initiative.
Therefore, the government’s role is to regulate the business relationship between newspaper companies and digital platforms in the spirit of enhancing the quality of journalism, even though the validation process took quite a long time due to the involvement of the interests of various parties.
“The process is indeed very long and involves many differences of opinion, and it has been exhausting for many parties; it is very difficult to find a common ground,” he said, adding that content creators are not subject to the newly announced regulation.
Amid the challenges in the current digital platform era, the government will continue to look for solutions and affirmative policies for domestic media enterprises by instructing the Ministry of Communication and Informatics to prioritise government advertising spending for media companies.
Jokowi also advised the media to remain as one of the pillars of democracy and deliver accurate information, and innovate to adapt to the changes of the times amid global competition.
— Bernama
