The current Indonesian Minister of Communication and Information, Budi Arie Setiadi, confirmed his stance regarding X’s recent policy to allow pornographic content.
In a conversation with the press on Tuesday, 10th June, at the Senayan parliamentary complex, Jakarta, Setiadi divulged that he had sent a letter to X expressing his concerns about the controversial policy.
“Regarding the pornography on X, I have written to them; if they continue to allow pornography [on X], we will shut it down here in Indonesia. We will block it,” Setiadi explained.
Setiadi further emphasized that the Indonesian government would firmly handle any morally ambiguous content.
“Basically, for us, any unsettling content would be brushed off. There’s no way another country gets to reign over us,” he said regarding the United States-based social media company.
X (formerly Twitter) has recently updated its guidelines that allow users to openly share pornographic content as long as the content in question is produced and distributed consensually, labelled, and not shared in an ‘open location’, such as the profile picture of an X account user.
As quoted from the X Help Centre: “We believe that users should be able to create, distribute, and consume material related to sexual themes as long as it is consensually produced and distributed. Sexual expression, whether visual or written, can be a legitimate form of artistic expression. We believe in the autonomy of adults to engage with and create content that reflects their own beliefs, desires, and experiences, including those related to sexuality.”
However, the X Help Centre also stated that the social media platform prohibits any attempt at sexual misconduct and exploitation, especially concerning the safety of children who are users of X.
As quoted from the X Help Centre: “We balance this freedom by restricting exposure to Adult Content for children or adult users who choose not to see it. We also prohibit content promoting exploitation, non-consent, objectification, sexualisation, or harm to minors, and obscene behaviours.”
Based on the platform’s recent policy as published in May 2024 on the website of the X Help Centre, X defines “Adult Content” as “any consensually produced and distributed material depicting adult nudity or sexual behaviour that is pornographic or intended to cause sexual arousal. This also applies to AI-generated, photographic, or animated content such as cartoons, hentai, or anime.”