The Communication and Informatics Ministry had earlier restricted internet access in the provinces of Papua and West Papua from August-end to September to thwart the enormous spread of fake news and inflammatory content.
"It has been a long time (normal). I even forgot (when it was revoked). The data has been activated; everything is activated. Indeed, when riot occurs in Wamena, internet access was temporarily deactivated in Wamena, but thereafter, there was no more (blocking)," Rudiantara stated at the Vice President's Palace, Jakarta, Wednesday.
Speaking in connection with the distribution of hoax, Rudiantara admitted to not being aware of the exact data, though confirming that the figure had declined significantly.
Before Wamena, the Communication and Informatics Ministry also cut internet access in several areas in Papua and West Papua in August-end owing to demonstrations that had snowballed into riots.
"We see from the virtual world, how many URLs (uniform resource locators) expand hoaxes today. If the recycled hoaxes are still there, I have to check," he explained.
The Communication and Informatics Ministry believes internet restrictions are a solution to curbing the proliferation of hoaxes and hate expressions.
The Communication and Informatics Ministry pointed out that the circulation of hoaxes in Papua had peaked on August 31, 2019, with such URLs reaching 42 thousand.
The Ministry of Communication and Informatics claimed that the number of such URLs had dropped to some one thousand on September 12, 2019, after internet access was blocked. Related news: Internet access to be reopened after peace prevails in Papua: Wiranto
Related news: Internet access restricted in Papua to curb fake news: Tito
EDITED BY INE
Translator: Fransiska N, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
