Freedom of opinion, freedom of expression and freedom of the press are human rights protected by Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution and the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Cyber media in Indonesia are part of these freedoms. Because cyber media have special characteristics, the Indonesian Press Council (Dewan Pers), together with press organisations, cyber media managers and the public, drew up the following Cyber Media Reporting Guidelines, in line with Law No. 40 of 1999 on the Press and the Journalistic Code of Ethics. Mata Sumsel follows these guidelines.
1. Scope
Cyber media are all media that use the internet, carry out journalistic activities and meet the requirements of the Press Law and the Press Company Standards set by the Press Council. User Generated Content is any content created or published by users, such as articles, images, comments, audio, video, blogs and forums.
2. Verification and balance
In principle, every news story must be verified. Stories that may harm another party must be verified within the same story to ensure accuracy and balance. Exceptions apply only for urgent public interest, credible and identified first sources, and subjects who cannot be reached — and readers must be told that further verification is underway, with the result published as an update linked to the original story.
3. User Generated Content
Terms and conditions for user content must be clearly displayed. Users must agree that their content contains no lies, slander, sadism or obscenity, no hatred based on ethnicity, religion, race or group, no incitement to violence and no discrimination. The media may edit or remove violating content, must provide a complaints mechanism, and must act on valid complaints within 2 × 24 hours.
4. Corrections and right of reply
Corrections and the right of reply follow the Press Law, the Code of Ethics and the Press Council guidelines. They must be linked to the original story and show the time they were published. Media that republish a story must also carry its corrections. Media that refuse a right of reply may be fined up to IDR 500 million under the Press Law.
5. Removal of news
Published news may not be removed because of censorship from outside the newsroom, except for matters of ethnicity/religion/race, decency, the future of children, the trauma of victims, or other considerations set by the Press Council. Removals must be explained and announced to the public.
6. Advertising
News and advertising must be clearly separated. Paid content must be labelled "advertorial", "ads", "sponsored" or similar.
7. Copyright
Cyber media must respect copyright as regulated by law.
8. Display of the guidelines
Cyber media must display these guidelines clearly on their site.
9. Disputes
The final assessment of disputes over the implementation of these guidelines is made by the Press Council.
This is an English summary. The official text (Indonesian) was issued in Jakarta on 3 February 2012 and is available from the Press Council (dewanpers.or.id).