Indonesia invokes anti-porn laws against rebranded Twitter
Indonesia has blocked access to the website X.com, chosen by Elon Musk for his rebranded social media platform formerly known as Twitter. The Muslim-majority country’s Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (Kominfo) said the domain has been associated with illicit content.
“X.com was previously used to host other sites that were not complying with our laws and were included in the Kominfo blocklist,” the ministry’s spokesman, Usman Kansong, told reporters on Tuesday. He did not specify why exactly the domain name was blacklisted.
However, according to Al Jazeera, the website was blocked in line with the government’s crackdown on “negative content,” such as pornography and gambling.
Kansong said the ministry was in contact with Musk’s company over the issue. “Earlier today, we spoke with representatives from Twitter and they will send a letter to us to say that X.com will be used by Twitter,” he explained.
Musk announced on Monday that Twitter would change its name and the iconic blue bird logo in favor of a white letter X in a black square. The billionaire, who acquired the platform last year, argued that the style would better suit Twitter’s new functions.
“In the months to come, we will add comprehensive communications and the ability to conduct your entire financial world. The Twitter name does not make sense in that context, so we must bid adieu to the bird,” Musk said.
Indonesia restricted access to video streaming service Netflix from 2016 to 2020, citing the promotion of “negative content such as pornography, LGBT or violence.”
