Minister Erick Thohir: Telkomsel to Launch Digital Media Aggregator

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Erick Thohir revealed to launch a Google and Meta equivalent of a digital media aggregator with Telkomsel. The product will be released along with the merger of two state-owned companies, Telkomsel and Telkom through its unit, Indihome. "In one or two days we will launch the merger between Indihome and Telkomsel as an aggregator, so it's not a competition," said Erick at the State Palace on Monday, July 17, 2023. 

Erick hoped that this Indonesian aggregator will be able to compete with Google and Meta and be beneficial for the development of Indonesia's media business through a publisher rights scheme. The regulation for publisher rights is currently being drafted. "We want to synchronize the digital economy, the media is pushing for publisher rights," said Erick.

Meanwhile, Nezar Patria, which has been officiated by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo as the Deputy Minister of Communication and Informatics, said that he will finalize the regulation concerning publisher rights. "It is on the agenda to be noted and discussed," said Nezar at the State Palace on Monday, July 17, 2023.

The former member of the Press Council said that there is an instruction from President Jokowi to finalize the publisher rights bill through a Presidential Regulation. "We just got the instructions, so we need to do the mapping again. The results will be informed swiftly," said Nezar.

Publisher rights are a concept that obliged digital platforms such as Meta, Google, and other aggregators to pay for news from mass media companies. Publisher rights have been regulated in various countries, one of which is Australia. Publisher rights are believed to support journalism for the sake of public interest. In Indonesia, currently, digital platforms hold the biggest revenue from published news in their platforms.

ADE RIDWAN YANDWIPUTRA

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