TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo alias Jokowi said that the government has blocked Telegram app for security reasons. He reasoned that the social media platform was used to spread radical propaganda, hate, terrorism and bomb-making tutorials. “Not only one, two, three, four, five or six, there were thousands of them on Telegram. And it disturbs national security and the people,” he said yesterday in Jakarta.
The Communication and Informatics Ministry on Friday told internet service providers (ISP) to cut off the access to eleven domain name systems (DNS) belong to Telegram: t.me, telegram.me, telegram.org, core.telegram.org, desktop.telegram.org, macos.telegram.org, web.telegram.org, venus.web.telegram.org, pluto.web.telegram.org, flora.web.telegram.org, and flora-1.web.telegram.org. As a consequence, Telegram web cannot be accessed. The Communication Minister threatens to completely shut down the app if it fails to issue a standard operating procedure (SOP) to handle illegal contents.
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Telegram has reacted to the government’s move by promising that it would close down accounts containing troubled chats. It will also hold talks with the Communication Ministry about the issue.
Jokowi said that there are thousands of active radical channels or accounts on Telegram. He expects the platform to address the issue.
The government will also take harsh stance on other online instant messenger services that commit similar violation. Jokowi, however, said that the move will be done prudently.
The National Police chief General Tito Karnavian said that the police had recommended the ban on Telegram. “It’s based on the long-term analysis of our intelligence,” Tito said yesterday.
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The analysis shows that may terrorist groups used Telegram due to its security and privacy policy. The app has an end-to-end encryption feature which will make wiretapping difficult, Tito said. Moreover, Telegram allows thousands of individuals to join a group chat.
“A group in Telegram can accommodate up to 10,000 members who can spread ideas there. As a result, there’s a phenomenon called lone wolf and self-radicalization: radicalization through online media,” Tito said.
ISTMAN MP | DESTRIANITA | AMRI MAHBUB
