VZCZCXRO7359
OO RUEHBC RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHDT RUEHGI RUEHHM RUEHJS
RUEHKUK RUEHLH RUEHPW RUEHROV
DE RUEHJA #0719/01 1001017
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 091017Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8611
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY
RUCNISL/ISLAMIC COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 4895
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2289
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 3384
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1773
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 2507
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 2562
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000719 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/PD, DRL/AWH, EEB/CIP/BA 
NSC FOR E.PHU 
USTR FOR K.EHLERS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KPAO ECPS EINT ID
SUBJECT: C-D18-00223:  INDONESIA BLOCKS YOUTUBE, MYSPACE, 
OVER ANTI-ISLAMIC FILM 
 
REF: A. JAKARTA 717 
     ¶B. JAKARTA 674 
     ¶C. JAKARTA 655 
     ¶D. STATE 20822 
 
¶1.  (U) This message is Sensitive but Unclassified.  Please 
protect the business sensitive information in paras 4-5. 
 
 
¶2.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  The GOI beginning April 8 ordered 
internet service providers in Indonesia to block YouTube, 
MySpace, and a handful of other websites containing the 
anti-Islamic film "Fitna."  The Ministry of Communication and 
Information ordered that the sites be blocked in Indonesia 
until the sites themselves removed the film.  Critics saw 
this as a move that, if continued, would hamper the free flow 
of information.  The GOI took the step in order to get out in 
front of concerns sparked by the film's release.  Mission is 
concerned by the action and will discuss it with GOI 
interlocutors.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶3.  (U) GOI TEMPORARILY BANS WEBSITES:  On April 8, 
Indonesia's internet service providers blocked at least eight 
websites showing the anti-Islamic film "Fitna" in response to 
an order issued last week by the Ministry of Communication 
and Information.  The GOI took the action so that no one in 
Indonesia can view the anti-Islamic film "Fitna." 
 
¶4.  (SBU) LETTER TO YOUTUBE:  On April 9, Jake Hubert of 
Google's Asian Government Affairs office told econoff that 
YouTube received a letter from Communication and Information 
Minister Mohammad Nuh on April 3.  The letter requested 
YouTube to take down 3,000 "Fitna" videos found on the 
website.  (Note: a search for "Fitna" on the YouTube site 
produced 3,070 hits, the vast majority of which are 
commentary and not video or excerpts of video.)  The letter 
also threatened that the Ministry will instruct Indonesian 
internet service providers to block the YouTube website until 
all 3,000 videos are taken down. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) A CASE FOR DIALOGUE:  Later that day, Google's 
Director of Public Policy Andrew McLaughlin held a phone 
conference with Director General of Information Technology 
Cahyana Ahmadjayadi to discuss the issue.  Google 
representatives told Ahmadjayadi that "blocking YouTube was 
not the way to resolve this" and moreover, there was a 
genuine dialogue taking place on the website about the 
"Fitna" film, including a large number of critics of the 
film. 
¶6.  (SBU) Google representatives also said they would follow 
local law regarding the issue and that their local counsel 
was still researching it.  Hubert told us, "We're not 
acknowledging that the 'Fitna' video violates Indonesian 
law."  In response to the letter, Google has asked the 
Ministry to provide a complete list of videos that they want 
YouTube to block.  Hubert described the meeting as positive 
and said, "We do feel we're making good progress.  We've 
opened a line of communication." Google has requested a 
follow up meeting with either Nuh or Ahmadjayadi and, as of 
April 9, they were waiting for a response. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) REASONS FOR CONCERN FOR MEDIA FREEDOM:  Media 
advocates condemned the government's request to block access 
to the websites, seeing the action as governmental control of 
access to information.  The Indonesian Constitution protects 
public access to information and all means of communication. 
Advocates said the government is restricting this right by 
blocking the websites, albeit temporarily.  In protest, the 
Independent Journalists Alliance (AJI) called for the 
Information Minister to resign. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The GOI took the step in order to get out in front 
of concerns sparked by the film's release among some Muslim 
groups (see reftels).  Mission is concerned by the action and 
will discuss it with GOI interlocutors.  In an odd 
juxtaposition, the GOI move to limit media freedom comes at 
the same time that the GOI passed a new Freedom of 
 
JAKARTA 00000719  002 OF 002 
 
 
Information Act which increases public access to government 
information (ref A). 
 
 
HUME