Cyber Police Probe Whatsapp Groups in War on Hoaxes

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian National Police’s cyber-criminal investigation agency has started to probe Whatsapp groups that are suspected of frequently spreading disinformation or hoaxes.

The main reason behind it is that the platform has become dominant in spreading hoaxes compared to other social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, where hoax contents have started to be less prevalent. 

Read: Govt Limits Number of Forwarding Message on Whatsapp

The head of the cyber agency, Sr. Comr. Rickynaldo Chairul, said that hoaxers had started to shift to Whatsapp since it was considered to be much safer and believed to be under the police’s radar.

“These people think that spreading hoaxes among Whatsapp groups is safer compared to social media. This is why we cyber-patrol these groups besides the usual social media,” said Ricky on Friday, June 14. 

Read: WhatsApp Uses Machine Learning to Delete False News Accounts

Moreover, he said that policing Whatsapp groups did not violate any existing laws in Indonesia, and that the police were granted the ability to arrest those who intentionally spread disinformation. However, Ricky made sure that the police would not abuse its authority in this matter.

The police have started patrolling Whatsapp groups before the 2019 Presidential Election kicked-off and hinted at continuing it until the inauguration of the future president and vice president.

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