JAKARTA – The Wikimedia Foundation has announced it will hold talks with the Indonesian government after Jakarta threatened to block access to Wikipedia over a data‑registration rule that the non‑profit says clashes with international human rights norms.
In a statement on April 17 sent to Media, the parent company of Wikipedia said it will meet Indonesian officials next week to discuss demands that it register as an “electronic system provider” (PSE) under a 2020 regulation. The rule requires all PSEs, including foreign‑based platforms, to register with the state, which Jakarta describes as a measure for legal oversight and user protection. However, rights groups have singled out a clause allowing authorities to order the removal of content deemed to “cause public unrest and disturb public order,” arguing it amounts to a free‑speech restriction.
On April 15, Indonesia’s Communication and Digital Ministry gave the Wikimedia Foundation seven days to complete registration or risk having its services, including the Indonesian‑language Wikipedia, blocked in the country of about 284 million people. The foundation countered that registration under the so‑called MR5 regulation would compromise the privacy and security of Wikipedia contributors and departs from established human‑rights standards. It vowed to resist what it called “inappropriate orders” and push back against laws mandating rapid and binding disclosure of user data without room for legal challenge.
The Wikimedia Foundation warned that a shutdown of Wikipedia in Indonesia would deprive the world’s fourth‑most populous nation of access to the largest free online repository of knowledge. The Communication and Digital Ministry has not publicly responded to repeated requests for comment, though it acknowledged earlier in the week that the foundation had repeatedly asked for extensions to comply with the registration deadline. The move echoes a similar standoff in October 2025, when authorities briefly suspended TikTok’s local operating licence after the social media giant refused to share information on violent anti‑government protests.