TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Some users can still find pornographic Graphic Interchange Format (GIF) contents on WhatsApp despite the blocking by the Communication and Informatics Ministry. However, keywords such as “sex” and “porn” are no longer available in the platform’s search engine.
A WhatsApp user named Doni said that porn GIFs in the networking app can still be found using other keywords. Another user, Putri, an employee, said that she can still access inappropriate content on the platform.
Read: Police Ask Ministry to Ban Whatsapp Porn GIF
Tempo gathered that WhatsApp's GIF contents in other phones are not available. If a user selects GIF option, the display shows a message that reads: “Check your phone’s Internet connection and try again”. The phone itself is actually connected to the internet.
The Communication and Informatics Minister Rudiantara said the pornographic GIF contents on WhatsApp are already blocked save for a few. “It’s not a hundred percent yet but operators have blocked [content]. Not all are done at the same time, just wait,” he said in Central Jakarta on November 7.
The Ministry has issued three warnings to WhatsApp on Sunday night and Monday morning. An official said that WhatsApp must be held responsible to block the content.
Rudiantara said that the Ministry will not block WhatsApp but ‘only the Tenors that provide the GIFs’.
Earlier, inappropriate GIFs have been a talking point for people on social media. Minister Rudiantara had received complaints on his Twitter account about the issue.
CAESAR AKBAR | RIANI SANUSI PUTRI