Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs

Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs
Kementerian Komunikasi dan Digital
Ministry overview
Formed19 August 1945 (1945-08-19) as Department of Information
9 August 2001 (2001-08-09) as State Ministry of Communication and Information
Preceding agencies
  • Department of Information (1945–1999)
  • State Ministry of Communication and Information (2001–2005)
  • Department of Communication and Informatics (2005–2009)
  • Ministry of Communication and Informatics (2009–2024)
JurisdictionGovernment of Indonesia
Headquarters
Minister responsible
Deputy Ministers responsible
  • Nezar Patria, First Deputy Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs
  • Angga Raka Prabowo, Second Deputy Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs
Parent department
Coordinating Ministry for Political and Security Affairs
Websitewww.komdigi.go.id
Current logo in Indonesian version

The Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (MCDA; Indonesian: Kementerian Komunikasi dan Digital; abbreviated as Komdigi) is an Indonesian government ministry that is responsible for digital communications, information affairs and internet censorship. The ministry reports to the president and is currently led by Meutya Hafid, the Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs.

The current form of the ministry was established in 2001 by President Megawati Sukarnoputri after its predecessor, the Department of Information (Indonesian: Departemen Penerangan, lit. 'Department of Enlightenment', abbreviated Deppen), was abolished by President Abdurrahman Wahid in 1999. Deppen itself was created on 19 August 1945, during the National Revolution.

Organization

Former logo as Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, used from 2007 until 2024

By Presidential Decree No. 174/2024 and as expanded by Coordinating Ministry for Infrastructure and Regional Development Decree No. 1/2025, the Ministry is organized as follows:

Controversy

The ministry is often criticized[by whom?] for its censorship, as it blocks websites "to protect its citizen from hoax" [sic]. In 2020, the Director General Ministry Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan and Johnny G. Plate introduced a law that requires foreign companies to register under the Electronic System Provider (Penyelenggara Sistem Elektronik; PSE) list which could give the government access to the citizen's personal info and threaten the company to block access from the country if the company did not register. The law was revised and passed in 2021.

In July 2022, a ban was implemented for several notable websites such as PayPal, Epic Games, Steam, Origin, and Yahoo, and games such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Dota 2 as they did not register under the ministry's new law. Access to PayPal, Steam, CSGO, Dota 2, and Yahoo would later be allowed for once more by 2 August 2022.

Censorship of Wikipedia

Since 25 February 2026, Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs Meutya Hafid has ordered a controversial ban to access to Wikimedia's authentication domain (auth.wikimedia.org) due to the foundation's non-compliance of registering themselves under the Electronic System Provider law. This prevents users from logging in or creating accounts on all Wikimedia projects, including Wikipedia. Rights groups have condemned the ministry decision as digital authoritarian abuse and called for the restoration of normal access.

On 25 March 2026, Wikimedia Commons domain was also blocked in the country; it has since been unblocked, while Wikimedia's authentication portal is still blocked.

On 16 April 2026, the Indonesian government threatened to block the entire Wikipedia and all other Wikimedia Foundation subsidiaries within 7 business days, citing the PSE law.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 PERATURAN PRESIDEN REPUBLIK INDONESIA NOMOR 174 TAHUN2024 TENTANG KEMENTERIAN KOMUNIKASI DAN DIGITAL (PDF) (Presidential Decree 174) (in Indonesian). President of Indonesia. 2024.
  2. ↑ admin. "Sejarah". Website Resmi Kementerian Komunikasi dan Informatika RI (in Indonesian). PDSI KOMINFO. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  3. ↑ PERATURAN MENTERI KOMUNIKASI DAN DIGITAL REPUBLIK INDONESIA NOMOR 1 TAHUN 2025 TENTANG ORGANISASI DAN TATA KERJA KEMENTERIAN KOMUNIKASI DAN DIGITAL (PDF) (Ministry for Communication and Digital Affairs Decree 1) (in Indonesian). Ministry for Communication and Digital Affairs. 2025.
  4. ↑ "Permenkominfo No.5/2020 Menjadi Ancaman Baru Kebebasan Pers". Harian Jogja (in Indonesian). 22 July 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  5. ↑ "Penyebab Kominfo Blokir Steam dan Situs Game Online Lain, Sampai Kapan Pemblokiran serta Apa Solusinya". beritadiy (in Indonesian). Pikiran Rakyat. 30 July 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  6. ↑ "PayPal Kena Blokir Kominfo Juga, padahal Sudah Terdaftar PSE". Kompas (in Indonesian). 30 July 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  7. ↑ "Kominfo Pastikan 8 Platform Digital Telah Diblokir: Steam, Epic Games hingga Paypal". Liputan6 (in Indonesian). 30 July 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  8. ↑ "Paypal, Steam, CS Go, Dota, dan Yahoo Telah Dinormalisasi / Dibuka Aksesnya" [Paypal, Steam, CS Go, Dota, and Yahoo have normalized / opened access]. www.kominfo.go.id (in Indonesian). 2 August 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  9. ↑ "Kemkomdigi Batasi Fitur Login Wikimedia karena Belum Daftar PSE Privat". Komdigi.go.id (Press release) (in Indonesian). Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs. 27 February 2026. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  10. ↑ Majid, Naufal (27 February 2026). "Koalisi Damai Desak Pemerintah Segera Buka Blokir Wikipedia" [Peace Coalition Urges Government to Lift the Block on Wikipedia Immediately]. Tirto.id (in Indonesian). Retrieved 27 February 2026.
  11. ↑ Nurdiyanto, Wahyu (27 February 2026). "Koalisi Damai Desak Pemerintah Buka Blokir Login Wikipedia" [Peace Coalition Urges Government to Lift the Block on Wikipedia]. Times Indonesia (in Indonesian). Retrieved 27 February 2026.
  12. ↑ "Pemerintah Harus Segera Buka Kembali Blokir Wikipedia". SAFEnet.or.id (Press release) (in Indonesian). Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network. 27 February 2026. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  13. ↑ Ikhwanuddin, Iwa (25 March 2026). "Kemkomdigi Blokir Wikimedia Commons Hari Ini, Akses Edit Wikipedia Indonesia Terhenti: Netizen Protes Keras" [The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology Blocks Wikimedia Commons Today, Access to Edit Indonesian Wikipedia Halted: Netizens Voice Strong Protests]. Radar Jogja (in Indonesian). Jawa Pos.
  14. ↑ Mardianti, Dede Leni (17 April 2026). "Indonesia Threatens to Block Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons Access". Tempo English. Tempo. Retrieved 17 April 2026.