President Joko Widodo recently issued Presidential Regulation No. 32 of 2024 Regarding Digital Platform Responsibilities to Support Quality Journalism on Feb. 20. This regulation was issued due to press companies being affected by the massive development of the digital media world.
However, quality journalism in mainstream media as a good information channel for the public is still needed. Yet, public interest in social and digital media is much greater due to their speed and accessibility.
Dr. I Gusti Ngurah Putra, a lecturer at the Department of Communication Science, UGM Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (Fisipol UGM), believes that policies regarding publisher rights need to be monitored to determine whether they are implemented to support the growth of the press industry in the country or if they are just complementary regulations.
“The impact cannot be seen further yet. Regulation is essential, but the struggle to achieve the profits they need is what is necessary,” said Dr. Putra in a press release sent to journalists on Wednesday (Apr. 3) on the 12th edition of the Diskoma Discussion titled Publisher Rights: Enabling Equitable Business Practices between Press Companies and Digital Platforms.
Dr. Putra stated that digitalization has become a source of new media that has successfully disrupted various aspects. One of the most affected is the dissemination of information.
In the digital world, people are exposed to high-speed information flows. Moreover, with digital ease and personalization, public interest in information on digital media, especially social media, is higher than in the press.
“This condition affects the sustainability of the press industry amid digital disruption,” Dr. Putra explained.
The Chair of the Inter-Institutional and Foreign Relations Commission of the Indonesian Press Council, Totok Suryanto, acknowledged that some digital platform publishers expressed objections to this new regulation.
He mentioned that Publisher from Meta, for example, in their meeting with the Press Council, expressed hope that they would not be included in the provisions to share revenue with publishers in Indonesia, especially the press.
“This Presidential Regulation, in the context of the relationship between digital platform programs and the press, does not cover content creators and others. According to them, there is a space they have prepared for publishers in this country to use,” explained Suryanto.
Meta and Google conveyed similar sentiments. As global platforms, both claimed to have established various business collaborations with several press institutions. Most of these collaborations aim to safeguard quality journalism; therefore, they do not want to be subject to these regulations.
Suryanto estimated that this presidential regulation would later be adjusted according to the efforts made by each publisher. Currently, the presence of press companies in Indonesia is booming.
Unlike in the past, digital platforms now make it easy for individuals to build digital press media without significant capital. However, the economic condition of the Indonesian press is currently worrying.
This means so many media outlets have been born with content distribution devices; thus, advertisers have many options, making it easier.
“In this worrying condition, we are trying to formulate some rules to achieve fairness in the interaction between the press and global platforms,” explained Suryanto.
Although the regulation is considered one of the effective and quick ways to address issues on both sides, Suryanto believes that two main goals can be achieved through publisher rights regulations: creating quality journalism that can be distributed on a global platform and press media can earn income as publishers on digital media.
It is also part of implementing Sustainable Development Goal 17, “Partnerships for the Goals.” This cooperation will strengthen the press as a quality and responsible information provider.
Author: Tasya
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Image: Freepik