In Indonesia, the Internet Emerges as a (Too?) Powerful Tool - NYTimes.com - 0 views
www.nytimes.com/...20indonet.html
indonesia internet governance Internet #ARIN6902 Government censorship political campaigns
shared by César Albarrán Torres on 20 Apr 10
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Displeased that a statue of a 10-year-old Barack Obama was installed in a park here, Indonesians took their protest not to this capital’s most famous traffic circle but to Facebook. More than 56,000 online protesters later, city officials gave in to arguments that the park should be reserved to honor an Indonesian.
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But the boom is prompting a fierce debate over the limits of free expression in a newly democratic Indonesia, with the government trying to regulate content on the Internet and a recently emboldened news media pushing back.
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Skeptics, especially among politicians and religious leaders, worry about mob rule and the loss of traditional values.
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Thanks to relatively cheap cellphones that offer Internet access, Facebook, Twitter and local social networking media have rapidly spread from cities to villages throughout Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia and the Philippines
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In another cause célèbre, online support was critical in freeing a 32-year-old mother who was jailed after complaining about the poor service at a suburban Jakarta hospital.
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According to data from Facebook, Indonesia trails only the United States, with 116 million users, and Britain, with 24 million.
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“I think we are between China and the United States,” he said. “Yes, we are free. But with freedom comes responsibility.”