CYBER MEDIA GUIDELINES
GUIDELINES FOR CYBER MEDIA COVERAGE
Freedom of opinion, freedom of expression, and freedom of the press are human rights protected by Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution, and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The existence of cyber media in Indonesia is also part of these freedoms.
Cyber media has 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 formulated the following Cyber Media Coverage Guidelines:
1. Scope
a. Cyber Media refers to all forms of media that use the internet as a platform and carry out journalistic activities, while fulfilling the requirements of the Press Law and Press Company Standards set by the Press Council.
b. User Generated Content (UGC) refers to all content created and/or published by users of cyber media, including articles, images, comments, audio, video, and various forms of uploads attached to cyber media, such as blogs, forums, reader/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 within the same report to meet the principles of accuracy and balance.
c. The provisions in point (a) may be exempted under the following conditions:
- The news contains urgent public interest;
- The initial news source is clearly identified, credible, and competent;
- The subject of the news cannot be located and/or interviewed;
- The media provides an explanation to readers that the news still requires further verification, which will be pursued as soon as possible. This explanation must be placed at the end of the same news article, in parentheses and in italics.
d. After publishing news as referred to in point (c), the media must continue verification efforts, and once verification is obtained, the results must be included in an updated version of the news, with a link to the previously unverified report.
3. User Generated Content (UGC)
a. Cyber media must clearly display 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.
b. Cyber media must require users to register and log in before publishing any form of User Generated Content. Further provisions regarding login will be regulated.
c. During registration, users must provide written consent that their User Generated Content:
- Does not contain false, defamatory, sadistic, or obscene material;
- Does not contain prejudice or hatred related to ethnicity, religion, race, and intergroup relations (SARA), nor promote violence;
- Does not contain discriminatory content based on gender or language, and does not degrade the dignity of vulnerable individuals such as the poor, the sick, the mentally ill, or the physically disabled.
d. Cyber media has full authority to edit or delete User Generated Content that violates point (c).
e. Cyber media must provide a complaint mechanism for User Generated Content that is considered to violate the provisions in point (c). This mechanism must be easily accessible to users.
f. Cyber media must edit, delete, or take corrective action on any reported User Generated Content that violates point (c) as soon as possible, proportionally, and no later than 2 x 24 hours after the complaint is received.
g. Cyber media that complies with points (a), (b), (c), and (f) shall not be held responsible for issues arising from User Generated Content that violates point (c).
h. Cyber media shall be responsible for reported User Generated Content if no corrective action is taken within the time limit specified in point (f).
4. Corrections, Clarifications, and Right of Reply
a. Corrections, clarifications, 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. Corrections, clarifications, and/or the right of reply must be linked to the corrected or clarified news.
c. Each correction, clarification, and right of reply must include the time of publication.
d. If a cyber media report is disseminated by other cyber media:
- The originating media’s responsibility is limited to content published on its platform or those under its technical authority;
- Corrections made by one cyber media must also be made by other media that quoted the report;
- Media that republishes content without applying corrections made by the original source bears full legal responsibility for any consequences.
e. In accordance with the Press Law, cyber media that fails to serve the right of reply may be subject to a criminal fine of up to IDR 500,000,000 (five hundred million rupiah).
5. News Retraction
a. Published news cannot be retracted due to external censorship, except in cases related to SARA, morality, children’s future, victims’ traumatic experiences, or other special considerations determined by the Press Council.
b. Other cyber media must follow the retraction of quoted news from the original source.
c. News retraction must include the reason for retraction and be announced to the public.
6. Advertising
a. Cyber media must clearly distinguish between editorial content and advertisements.
b. Any content that is advertising or paid content must be labeled with terms such as “advertorial”, “advertisement”, “ads”, “sponsored”, or other terms indicating that the content is an advertisement.
7. Copyright
Cyber media must respect copyright as regulated by applicable laws and regulations.
8. Publication of Guidelines
Cyber media must publish these Cyber Media Coverage Guidelines clearly and transparently on their platform.
9. Dispute Resolution
Final decisions regarding disputes in the implementation of these guidelines shall be resolved by the Press Council.
Jakarta, February 3, 2012
(These guidelines were signed by the Press Council and the press community in Jakarta on February 3, 2012.)