Cyber Media Guidelines
Freedom of opinion, freedom of expression, and freedom of the press are human rights protected by Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution, and the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The existence of cyber media in Indonesia also reflects freedom of opinion, freedom of expression, and freedom of the press.
Cyber media has a unique character and therefore requires guidelines to ensure its professional management, fulfilling its functions, rights, and obligations in accordance with Law Number 40 of 1999 concerning the Press and the Journalistic Code of Ethics. To this end, the Press Council, together with press organizations, cyber media managers, and the public, has developed the following Cyber Media Reporting Guidelines:
1. Scope
Cyber Media is any form of media that uses the Internet as a vehicle and carries out journalistic activities, and meets the requirements of the Press Law and the Press Company Standards set by the Press Council. User Generated Content is any content created and/or published by cyber media users, including articles, images, comments, sounds, videos 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, all news must be verified.
b. News that could be detrimental to another party requires verification within the same news to meet the principles of accuracy and balance.
c. The provisions in point (a) above are exempted, provided that:
- The news truly contains urgent public interest;
- The primary source of the news must be clearly identified, credible, and competent;
- The subject of the news whose whereabouts are unknown and/or cannot be interviewed;
- The media must explain to readers that the news requires further verification, which will be completed as soon as possible. This explanation must be included at the end of the same news item, enclosed in parentheses and in italics.
d. After publishing news in accordance with point (c), the media is obliged to continue verification efforts, and after verification is obtained, the verification results are included in the updated news with a link to the unverified news.
3. User Generated Content
a. Cyber media must include terms and conditions regarding User-Generated Content that do not conflict with Law No. 40 of 1999 concerning the Press and the Journalistic Code of Ethics, and must be displayed in a clear and conspicuous manner.
b. Cyber media require each user to register for membership and log in before publishing any form of User-Generated Content. Login provisions will be further regulated.
c. During registration, cyber media require users to provide written consent that the published User-Generated Content:
- Does not contain lies, slander, sadism, or obscenity;
- Does not contain content that promotes prejudice and hatred related to ethnicity, religion, race, and intergroup relations (SARA), or encourages acts of violence;
- Does not contain discriminatory content based on gender or language, and does not demean the dignity of the weak, poor, sick, mentally or physically disabled.
d. Cyber media have the absolute authority to edit or delete User-Generated Content that violates point (c). Cyber media are required to provide a complaint mechanism for User-Generated Content deemed to violate the provisions in point (c). This mechanism must be provided in a location that is easily accessible to users.
e. Cyber media are required to edit, delete, and take corrective action for any reported User-Generated Content that violates the provisions in point (c) as soon as possible and in a proportional manner, no later than 2 x 24 hours after the complaint is received.
f. Cyber media that have complied with the provisions in points (a), (b), (c), and (f) are not responsible for any problems arising from the publication of content that violates the provisions in point (c).
g. Cyber media are responsible for reported User-Generated Content if they do not take corrective action within the time limit as stated in point (f).
4. Errata, Corrections, and Right of Reply
a. Rectifications, corrections, and the right of reply refer to the Press Law, the Journalistic Code of Ethics, and the Right of Reply Guidelines established by the Press Council.
b. Rectifications, corrections, and/or the right of reply must be linked to the news item being rectified, corrected, or to which the right of reply has been granted.
c. Each rectification, correction, and right of reply must include the publication date of the rectification, correction, and/or right of reply.
d. If a particular cyber media news item is disseminated by other cyber media, then:
- The responsibility of a news-creating cyber media outlet is limited to the news published on that cyber media outlet or on cyber media outlets under its technical authority.
- Corrections made by a cyber media outlet must also be made by other cyber media outlets that quote the news from the corrected cyber media outlet.
- Media that disseminates news from a cyber media outlet and fails to make corrections to the news in accordance with those made by the cyber media outlet that owns and/or produces the news shall be fully responsible for all legal consequences resulting from the uncorrected news.
e. In accordance with the Press Law, cyber media that do not provide the right of reply can be subject to criminal sanctions in the form of a fine of up to IDR 500,000,000 (five hundred million rupiah).
5. News Retraction
a. Published news cannot be retracted due to censorship by parties outside the editorial team, except for issues related to ethnicity, religion, race, religion, or race, morality, the future of children, the traumatic experiences of victims, or other special considerations determined by the Press Council.
b. Other cyber media outlets are required to retract news quotes from the original media outlet that have been retracted.
c. Retractions must be accompanied by a reason for the retraction and announced to the public.
6. Advertising
a. Cyber media must clearly distinguish between news products and advertisements.
b. Any news, article, or content that constitutes advertising or paid content must include the description "advertorial," "advertisement," "ads," "sponsored," or other words that clarify that the news, article, or content is advertising.
7. Copyright
Cyber media must respect copyright as regulated in applicable laws and regulations.
8. Inclusion of Guidelines
Media siber wajib mencantumkan Pedoman Pemberitaan Media Siber ini di medianya secara terang dan jelas.
9. Disputes
The final assessment of disputes regarding the implementation of these Cyber Media Reporting Guidelines will be resolved by the Press Council.
Jakarta, February 3, 2012
(This guideline was signed by the Press Council and the press community in Jakarta, February 3, 2012).
