Civil Society Coalition Urges Formation of Publisher Rights Committee

A number of civil society organizations that are members of the Civil Society Coalition for Press Freedom are encouraging the Press Council, the Ministry of Communication and Information, and the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs to form a Publisher Rights Committee.

Meanwhile, this coalition consists of LBH Pers, SEJUK, AMSI, PPMN, Tifa Foundation, SAFEnet, FPMJ, ICW, IDA and Internews.

The formation of this committee follows the implementation of Presidential Regulation no. 32 of 2024 concerning the Responsibility of Digital Platform Companies to Support Quality Journalism (Publisher Rights).

This regulation has a mandate to establish a monitoring committee and fulfill the obligations of digital platform companies; providing recommendations to the minister who handles government affairs in the field of communications and informatics regarding the results of supervision; and implementation of facilitation in arbitration or alternative dispute resolution between digital platform companies and press companies.

"The implementation of this regulation is considered to require supervision from various sectors, stakeholders and civil society groups at large. Therefore, the formation of this committee is expected to take place in an open, participatory and accountable manner, by prioritizing integrity in the process and results," it was stated in official information received DailySocial.id.

The following is a summary of a number of main points related to the formation of the Publisher Rights Committee by the Civil Society Coalition for Press Freedom:

1. 1. The Press Council and the Selection Committee Team ensure that the entire selection process is carried out in a participatory and transparent manner by prioritizing the rights of civil society, especially the right to disclosure of information.
   2. The Press Council and the Selection Committee Team must prioritize prospective members who have integrity and are committed to quality journalism, press freedom, and fair compensation for media companies and journalists from all digital platforms that have a significant presence in Indonesia.
   3. The Press Council and the Task Force Team must ensure that all drafting of committee work rules are carried out in a participatory manner by actively involving independent experts/experts, civil society who have special attention to the issue of press freedom, quality journalism, and other related sectors.

As is known, the Presidential Decree on Publisher Rights which was passed at the end of February 2024 aims to encourage quality journalistic products and guarantee fair compensation from companies platform digital for press companies.

Publisher Rights regulate the obligations of global digital platforms, such as Google, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter), to support quality journalism for broadcasting news content from local and national media through a balanced reciprocal scheme.

One of the obligations, as stated in Article 5, is not to facilitate the dissemination and/or commercialization of news content that is not in accordance with the law regarding the press after receiving the report through the reporting facilities provided by the Digital Platform Company.