By Engelbertus Wendratama
The Indonesian government and parliament are deliberating a draft bill amending the 2014 Copyright Law, containing provisions that could offer a vital lifeline for Indonesian journalism. If passed, the amended law would recognise journalistic works as protected intellectual property, obliging digital platforms to share revenue when they profit from news content.
Since the late 2010s, Indonesian news media have faced severe financial distress amid digital disruption catalysed by the presence of news aggregators and social media platforms. This crisis is attributed to dwindling audiences across broadcast, print, and online media, coupled with the collapse of traditional ad-based business models.
The situation is further worsened by the emergence of AI systems, particularly impacting website-based news outlets. A study by Monash University found that, following the rollout of Google AI Overview in Indonesia in late 2024, Indonesia’s 20 largest news websites have been experiencing a decline in traffic and engagement. Since the emergence of Google AI Overview, built directly inside Google Search to give users quick summaries of search results, news outlets have seen a significant decline in click-through rates, shrinking their already limited digital ad revenue even further as global platforms (Google, Meta, and TikTok) capture between 75% and 80% of the country’s total digital advertising spend.
Another study by the author and his colleagues found that AI crawlers do not have permission from most online media companies to scrape their news archives to train AI models. This data scraping without permission or compensation also overloads their servers. For small outlets, which are the majority of online media outlets in the country, this can take their websites offline, hurting their audience and advertisers alike. In other words, they are being exploited as data suppliers for AI platforms but do not receive any economic value from them.
Since the 2014 Copyright Law does not recognise the economic rights of journalistic works, global platforms, which include social media, search engines, and AI platforms, that profit from journalistic content are not legally required to share earnings with news companies. This leaves Indonesian media companies with weak bargaining power in solely business-to-business negotiations.
This dire situation has prompted online media associations to back the accelerated revision of the Copyright Law. AMSI, one of the most prominent media associations in the country, has formally engaged in the amendment process, advocating for financial compensation from AI firms for news content used in AI training and link previews.
The Press Council also strongly supports efforts to legally recognise the economic rights of journalistic works, saying media efforts to seek compensation from major platforms have often been ignored. The Council affirms that the protection of journalistic works extends beyond safeguarding media companies and journalists; it also secures the public’s right to receive high-quality and credible information.
The independent press regulator further proposes two compensation mechanisms: through a collective management organisation (CMO) and B2B arrangements. This is in response to the draft bill’s model of a single, centralised CMO, which currently mirrors the nation’s music royalty system.
Additionally, the Minister of Law supports the provisions, saying that technological advances should not undermine the economic viability of the media industry. The government and members of parliament project the amendment to be completed before the end of 2026.
Southeast Asia’s leading initiative
Compared to other Southeast Asian countries, Indonesia’s proposed copyright law revision positions the nation to potentially become the first in the region in forcing Big Tech platforms to pay for news content.
Malaysia holds the next leading initiative, as its government empowers the Malaysian Media Council (MMC) to lead industry negotiations with global platforms. Although a definitive law has not yet been enacted, the Malaysian government expresses concerns about an economic imbalance where global platforms benefit from news publishers without providing fair financial compensation.
Thailand’s news industry is echoing the same demands, where media associations like the Online News Providers Association (SONP) have frequently called for state intervention to address the power imbalance between global platforms and domestic news publishers. However, the Thai government has not yet made any statements concerning global platforms’ compensation for news media industry.
Google’s opposition
Following expressions of support from diverse domestic stakeholders, the amendment initiative encountered opposition from a primary obligated entity: Google. In an official statement, Google asserted that the proposed bill threatens to upend Indonesians’ instant access to reliable information “by restricting platforms from showing helpful links or snippets of content, including news.”
Google only declared opposition to the single, centralised CMO, saying “the legislation would limit platforms’ ability to digitally distribute content and engage in independent commercial partnerships, forcing the industry to depend instead on a central body. It would undermine existing, successful commercial agreements such as our News Showcase partnerships with over 30 local publishers. Ultimately, these changes would erode consumer trust, break the open internet, and restrict access to vital information.”
However, their statement did not address news content as intellectual property, which gives news publishers the right to demand fair payment when digital platforms use their content. Therefore, Google’s position remains to be seen on whether the legislation will offer the two compensation mechanisms the Press Council suggested. Google’s rejection is criticised by the Legal Aid Institute for the Press, arguing that Google’s statement fails to respond to the substance of the regulation under discussion.
US pressure against foreign digital policy
A related concern widely voiced by the Press Council and media associations is the Reciprocal Trade Agreement between Indonesia and the US signed in February 2026, which is perceived to increasingly compromise the position of news media in relation to global platforms. This agreement includes a point in Annex III, Article 3.3, titled ‘Requirements for Digital Services Providers,’ stating: ‘Indonesia shall refrain from requiring U.S. digital services providers (platform services) to support domestic news organisations through paid licences, user data sharing, and profit-sharing models. ‘
However, the author argues that the agreement should not prohibit Indonesia from imposing financial compensation on digital platforms on the grounds of the Copyright Law.
Article 2.6 of the US-Indonesia agreement, specifically the Intellectual Property section, states that Indonesia is required to provide robust standards for intellectual property protection, including rights enforcement in the online environment. These protection standards include measures against copyright infringement, including news content if the amendment passes, which digital platforms must respect in accordance with this commitment.
The trade agreement only prohibits the imposition of a digital tax or financial obligation that potentially discriminates against US companies. As long as the regulation applies to all companies and is consistent with the promised intellectual property protections, this agreement still recognises Indonesia’s right to enforce its domestic laws.
This reciprocal agreement also reflects a broader global trend, where the US government uses tariff deals to influence foreign digital policies. A study by the Digital Policy Alert found that the US government’s pressure on digital policy as part of Trump’s tariff deals is having an effect at the international and domestic levels.
A legal precedent and other initiatives
Efforts to hold global platforms accountable already have a precedent in Indonesia, although it was not initiated by the news industry. The Indonesian Competition Commission fined Google LLC 202.5 billion IDR (around $15.87 million AUD) in 2025 for abusing its dominant position regarding the Google Play Billing System on its app store. Google appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, but this appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court in May 2026.
Parallel to the intellectual property approach, Indonesian media stakeholders such as AMSI and the Press Council engage with the Indonesian Competition Commission to initiate mandatory compensation from global digital platforms via competition law. This approach is driven by similar initiatives in other countries, such as Australia through the News Media Bargaining Code, which is currently strengthening its enforcement through the News Bargaining Incentive, and Canada through the Online News Act, which demands global platforms to negotiate fair compensation for news media, with the competition bureau intervening should talks deadlock.
Another initiative by the media stakeholders is establishing a journalism fund, an independent organisation or structure established to provide long-term funding to support quality journalism. In responding to structural issue in the media sector, countries with diverse political contexts have established pooled funds for journalism. This pooled fund creates an anonymous relationship between fund recipients and donors, with financial sources originating from states, digital platforms, philanthropies, donor agencies, corporations, and individual citizens.
Journalism’s sustainability reflects a nation’s democracy
In the ongoing economic and structural decline of Indonesia’s news industry, evidenced by the wave of layoffs and closures across the media sector during the last five years, the government and members of parliament must step in to save journalism if it wishes to preserve democracy.
The author assesses that the amendment of the Copyright Law needs to be accompanied by other initiatives, such as a competition law approach, journalism fund, and digital levy. It is imperative for Indonesia to enact legal protection for journalism that stands on equal footing with other jurisdictions like Australia, the European Union, and Canada.
If this legislative push fails to hold tech giants accountable for news copyright, Indonesia’s case will only reinforce the stigma of an imbalance of power between the Global South and global platforms. Such a failure would compromise the fourth pillar of democracy amid ongoing democratic backsliding in the fourth most populous nation in the world.
