Google, Meta and TikTok urged Indonesian lawmakers on Wednesday to drop a proposed requirement that online platforms compensate news publishers for displaying links to their articles, arguing the measure would narrow access to information in the country.
The three companies made their case at a parliamentary hearing on revisions to Indonesia’s copyright law, which would also set rules for artificial intelligence. If enacted, Indonesia would become the first country in Southeast Asia to fold AI into its copyright statute.
Agung Pamungkas, who leads government affairs and public policy for Google in Indonesia, told the hearing that a payment obligation for surfacing publisher links would restrict how Indonesians reach news. Meta’s Indonesia public policy head, Berni Moestafa, said the compensation mandate carried risks for the publishers themselves, warning they “could lose readership traffic as well as potential advertising and subscription revenue.” Sending readers to an article is not the same as reproducing or republishing it, he added.
TikTok’s public policy chief in Indonesia, Noudhy Valdryno, focused on the AI provisions. He asked lawmakers to limit disclosure requirements to cases where AI generates content outright, rather than serving as an assistive tool. He also urged them to keep safe-harbour protections in place, contending that platforms cannot reliably establish who holds copyright or what licences apply.
The bill has precedent abroad. Australia’s 2021 bargaining rules led Facebook to briefly block news on its service, and Google said in 2023 it would pull news links in Canada over a similar compensation law.
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