20 Sep 2016

Indonesia to ban gay networking apps and websites

Over 80 LGBT apps and websites will be banned in the latest crackdown on the community in the country.

A closed-door meeting held Wednesday at Indonesia's Ministry of Communications decided to ban over 80 apps and websites with LGBT content in Indonesia.

The panel included representatives from the Ministry of Human Development, the National Police, and the Ministry of Religious Affairs, which was represented by a member of the country’s Muslim clerics association. 

“The participants of the meeting all agree to block websites promoting LGBT,” Aidil Chendramata, director of information security for the Ministry of Communications, told BuzzFeed News following the meeting. 

Earlier this month, authorities busted an online paedophile ring they said linked adult men to mostly teenage boys and arrested three suspects. Police said they discovered Grindr on one of the suspects’ iPads, and believe he had used it to pimp boys.

Agung Setya, the police’s director of economic and special crimes, icalled for Grindr and 18 other gay networking apps in use in Indonesia to be banned by the Ministry of Communications. Setya said police “hope that, with the authority the communications ministry has, it will make the right decision and impose a ban”.

The ministry sent letters to internet providers requesting them to block the apps communications ministry spokesman Noor Iza told AFP. 

"We are starting to block LGBT applications," he said, referring to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. He added that authorities were targeting services which promote "sexual deviancy."

It is unclear if companies such as Google and Apple will follow instructions to remove apps from their digitial stores.

Prominent Indonesian gay rights activist Dede Oetomo accused the government of seeking to "create fear in society", and added authorities were "experiencing a moral panic".

This is the latest in a string of LGBT news to come from Indonesia, where the community has been experiencing a backlash since the beginning of the year.

Recently the government said there is “no room” in the country for the gay community.

Indonesia