Indonesia bans Steam, Epic, Origin and Nintendo for 274 million people
Over the weekend, the Indonesian government began blocking all websites and services that have not yet agreed to the new “internet control” laws. Various gaming platforms such as Steam, Epic Games Store or Nintendo Online are also affected.
Indonesia’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (Kominfo) recently passed new laws which the government says are part of a crackdown on anything appearing on the internet that is considered “unlawful”. All affected online services or the responsible providers who offer such “illegal” content should remove it within 24 hours (or four if it is considered “urgent”).
International companies that want to continue offering their services in Indonesia had to agree to the above framework conditions by last weekend. It will not surprise you that many companies have decided against it. As a prompt reaction, all services not registered for the new laws were summarily blocked for Indonesian IPs (via kotaku).
Who is affected?
Specifically, since the weekend, the Indonesian population has not only been unable to use some mainstream services such as PayPal and Yahoo directly, but also the games websites of Steam, Epic Games Store, Nintendo Online, EA’s Origin and Ubisoft. This is a severe blow for the companies affected. Indonesia is not only one of the most populated countries in the world (274 million people), but is also considered one of the largest markets for online services (ranked 3rd on the list of most Facebook users, top 10 for Youtube, TikTok, Twitter , Instagram and WhatsApp).
None of the currently affected services are considered prohibited. They are technically only blocked until the responsible companies sign up with Kominfo or the Indonesian government changes (or repeals) the law. Incidentally, the organization Human Rights Watch classifies the new laws as a “disaster that will destroy the right to freedom of expression in Indonesia”. Companies that have signed up for the new regulations include Google, Roblox and Riot Games.
Reference-www.buffed.de