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. The existence of cyber media in Indonesia is also part of freedom of opinion, freedom of expression, and freedom of the press.

Cyber media has a special character that requires guidelines so that its management can be carried out professionally, fulfilling its functions, rights and obligations in accordance with Law Number 40 of 1999 concerning the Press and the Journalistic Code of Ethics. For this reason, the Press Council together with press organizations, cyber media managers, and the public compiled the following Guidelines for Cyber Media News:

1. Scope

Cyber Media is any form of media that uses the internet and carries out journalistic activities, and meets the requirements of the Press Law and Press Company Standards set by the Press Council.
User Generated Content is any content created and or published by cyber media users, including articles, images, comments, sounds, videos and various forms of uploads attached to cyber media, such as blogs, forums, reader or viewer comments, and other forms.

2. Verification and balance of news

In principle, every news story must go through verification.
News that can harm other parties requires verification on the same news to fulfill the principles of accuracy and balance.
The provisions in point (a) above are exempted, provided that:
The news really contains urgent public interest;
The first news source is clearly identified, credible and competent;
The first news source is clearly identified, credible and competent;
The subject of the news to be confirmed is unknown and or cannot be interviewed;
The media provides an explanation to the reader that the news still requires further verification which is attempted as soon as possible. The explanation is published at the end of the same news item, in brackets and in italics.
After publishing news in accordance with point (c), the media is obliged to continue verification efforts, and after verification is obtained, the results of verification are included in the news update with a link to the unverified news.

3. User Generated Content

Cyber ​​media must include terms and conditions regarding User Generated Content that do not conflict with Law No. 40 of 1999 concerning the Press and the Journalistic Code of Ethics, which are placed clearly and visibly.
Cyber ​​media requires every user to register for membership and log in first to be able to publish all forms of User Generated Content. Provisions regarding log-in will be regulated further.
In the registration, cyber media requires users to provide written consent that the User Generated Content published:
Does not contain lies, slander, sadism and obscenity;
Does not contain content that contains prejudice and hatred related to ethnicity, religion, race, and inter-group (SARA), and encourages acts of violence;
Does not contain discriminatory content based on differences in gender and language, and does not demean the dignity of the weak, poor, sick, mentally disabled, or physically disabled.
Cyber ​​media has the absolute authority to edit or delete User Generated Content that conflicts with point (c).
Cyber ​​media must provide a complaint mechanism for User-Generated Content that is deemed to violate the provisions in point (c). The mechanism must be provided in a place that is easily accessible to users.
Cyber ​​media must edit, delete, and take corrective action for any reported User-Generated Content that violates the provisions in point (c), as soon as possible in a proportional manner, no later than 2 x 24 hours after the complaint is received.
Cyber ​​media that have fulfilled the provisions in points (a), (b), (c), and (f) are not burdened with responsibility for problems caused by the publication of content that violates the provisions in point (c).
Cyber ​​media are responsible for reported User-Generated Content if they do not take corrective action after the time limit as stated in point (f).

4. Corrections, Rectifications, and the Right of Reply

Corrections, corrections, and the right of reply refer to the Press Law, the Journalistic Code of Ethics, and the Right of Reply Guidelines set by the Press Council.
Corrections, corrections, and/or the right of reply must be linked to the news that is being corrected, corrected, or given the right of reply.
Every news item on rectifications, corrections, and the right of reply must include the time of publication of the rectification, correction, and/or the right of reply.
If a particular cyber media news item is disseminated by another cyber media, then:
The responsibility of the cyber media that created the news is limited to the news published on that cyber media or cyber media that is under its technical authority;
Corrections to news made by a cyber media must also be made by other cyber media that quote news from the cyber media that was corrected;
Media that disseminates news from a cyber media and does not make corrections to the news as made by the cyber media that owns and/or creates the news, is fully responsible for all legal consequences of the news that it did not correct.
In accordance with the Press Law, cyber media that do not provide the right of reply can be subject to criminal sanctions in the form of a maximum fine of IDR 500,000,000 (five hundred million rupiah).

5. News Retraction

News that has been published cannot be retracted for reasons of censorship from parties outside the editorial team, except for issues related to SARA, morality, the future of children, traumatic experiences of victims or based on other special considerations determined by the Press Council.
Other cyber media are required to follow the retraction of news quotes from the original media that have been retracted.
News retractions must be accompanied by reasons for retraction and announced to the public.
6. Advertisements

Cyber ​​media must clearly distinguish between news products and advertisements.
Every news/article/content that is an advertisement and/or paid content must include the statement “advertorial”, “advertisement”, “ads”, “sponsored”, or other words that explain that the news/article/content is an advertisement.
7. Copyright
Cyber ​​media must respect copyright as regulated in applicable laws and regulations.

8. Inclusion of Guidelines
Cyber ​​media must include these Cyber ​​Media Reporting Guidelines in their media in a clear and transparent manner.

9. Disputes
The final assessment of disputes regarding the implementation of these Cyber Media Reporting Guidelines will be resolved by the Press Council.

Jakarta, February 3, 2012

(These guidelines were signed by the Press Council and the press community in Jakarta, February 3, 2012).