The Indonesian government has restricted the use of WhatsApp to curb the spread of seditious and fake information following the riots and civil unrest that broke out on the streets of Jakarta over the official results of the Presidential Election 2019. – AFP graphics
JAKARTA: The Indonesian government has restricted the use of WhatsApp to curb the spread of seditious and fake information following the riots and civil unrest that broke out on the streets of Jakarta over the official results of the Presidential Election 2019.
Hashtag #WhatsappDown had also become the trending topic on Twitter across Indonesia since yesterday as most of WhatsApp users were facing difficulties in receiving or sending messages, videos or pictures through the messaging app.
“I am sorry, but this is only temporary,” Antara news agency quoted Indonesian Communications and Information Minister Rudiantara on Wednesday.
The restrictions, which was set until May 25, was done in accordance with the Electronic Information and Transactions Law to avoid the spread of hatred and fake information.
Apart from WhatsApp, users of Facebook and Instagram were also facing the same problem since yesterday.
For the record, over 130 million Indonesians are registered users of WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram. – Bernama