Every year, the Indonesian Press Council issues a press freedom index in a number of cities. This shows how serious we are about press freedom.
By
KOMPAS EDITOR
·3 minutes read
Kompas
World Press Freedom Ranking by Reporters Without Borders. Good (Baik), Very Good (Memuaskan), Problematic (Bermasalah), Difficult (Sulit), Very Difficult (Sangat Sulit).
Every year, the Indonesian Press Council issues a press freedom index in a number of cities. This shows how serious we are about press freedom.
Maybe due to various pressing problems, such as issues related to the pandemic, press freedom is not something that is of urgency to discuss. In fact, for the global community, press freedom has always been in the spotlight, and a number of international institutions have issued a press freedom index for each country. Indeed, reading their report sometimes makes us surprised.
Many countries, which in our view are less press-free, rank higher than us in the press freedom index. There are a few analyses, and although government control is strong, there are no reports of violence against journalists. On the other hands, even though we have a lot of discretion to write, including criticizing, there is still violence against journalists. There are still acts of violence against journalists that have not been revealed. This is considered worse than other countries.
In the latest developments, there is an indication that freedom to write news in the country is now being disrupted. On Tuesday (25/8/2020), this daily reported online media Tirto.id was hacked on Aug. 20-21, 2020 for reporting a coronavirus drug. The report on the coronavirus drug was deleted, and after being uploaded again, also deleted again. Meanwhile Tempo.co has a different experience. The visual appearance of its website has changed. There have been attempts to delete all news databases as well.
Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko speaks to journalists at the KPK Building, Jakarta, after attending the National Corruption Prevention Action, Wednesday (26/8/2020). The case of journalists\' personal data being spread in cyberspace for writing critical news should not be repeated.
In the prevention of the coronavirus outbreak, it is necessary to promote unity and solidarity among national components.
The Press Legal Aid Institute (LBH) and the Indonesian Cyber Media Association (AMSI) issued strong criticism against these actions. Deleting news means eliminating public access (to information). According to AMSI secretary general Wahyu Dhyatmika, hacking will create a climate of fear to write critically and openly. Especially before this, reporters, who wrote critical articles, were getting doxed. His personal data is shared in cyberspace.
According to the data of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), cyberattacks have grown rapidly during the last two years, and especially last year, the attacks increased sharply. The Southeast Asian Freedom of Expression Network in its May-June 2020 report recorded 23 cases of digital attacks on media, journalists and activists. Attacks are also experienced by civilians, such as academics, doctors, students and NGO activists.
There have been calls for the government to act against cyberattacks, given that attacks are often aimed at the media or those who criticize government policies, especially those concerning the handling of the coronavirus outbreak.
The issue of the press freedom is recorded by the international community and affects the democratization index of a country. It is up to us whether we want to be seen as an authoritarian state or a democracy. Indeed, the press community did not mention the perpetrator of hacking, but people who have good knowledge of the news should know who the hackers are.
In our view, in the prevention of the coronavirus outbreak, it is necessary to promote unity and solidarity among national components. However, scientific rationality and freedom of opinion should also become a matter of concern for us.
