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Expanding Freedom and Democracy
Freedom on the Net 2025

Indonesia

Partly Free
48
100
A Obstacles to Access 15 25
B Limits on Content 17 35
C Violations of User Rights 16 40
Last Year's Score & Status
49 100 Partly Free
Scores are based on a scale of 0 (least free) to 100 (most free). See the methodology and report acknowledgements.
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header1 Key Developments, June 1, 2024 – May 31, 2025

Internet freedom slightly declined in Indonesia. Government critics, journalists, and internet users continued to face criminal prosecution, violent attacks, and harassment in retaliation for their online activities.

  • In December 2024, telecommunications service providers XL Axiata and Smartfren Telecom agreed to a merger, which was completed in April 2025.1 The resulting company, XLSmart, controlled about 25 percent of the market, though this was still less than the market shares of Indosat Ooredoo Hutchinson and the dominant provider Telkomsel (A4).2
  • Authorities briefly blocked the digital library Archive.org in May 2025, reportedly due to pornographic and gambling-related content that was preserved on the site (B1).3
  • Protesters mobilized nationwide in March 2025, including through social media, in opposition to proposed legal changes that would allow members of the military to hold civilian offices.4 After the coverage period, in August and September 2025, Indonesians participated in consequential protests focused on corruption, inequality, and economic grievances. In response, security forces arrested people for their online commentary, censored social media posts that depicted violence against demonstrators, and compelled platforms to hand over the user data of people who live-streamed at protests (B2, B8, and C3).5
  • New research published in late 2024 and early 2025 cited evidence that government funding had been directed to pay online influencers, dubbed “buzzers,” to spread favorable messages on social media; the agencies employing the tactic reportedly included Indonesia’s navy (B5).6
  • The Constitutional Court handed down two landmark rulings in April 2025 that reduced the scope of the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law, restricting its defamation provision to plaintiffs who are natural persons—which excluded government agencies, corporations, and organized groups—and narrowing the application of a provision barring “public unrest” to exclude supposed unrest in online spaces (C2).7
  • Dozens of ITE Law investigations for online speech were carried out during the coverage period.8 A transgender user of the short-video platform TikTok was sentenced to 34 months’ imprisonment in March 2025 in response to a live video in which she enacted a farcical conversation with Jesus.9 In another case, a student was arrested in May 2025 after posting a fabricated meme image of a kiss between President Prabowo Subianto and former President Joko Widodo (C3).10

header2 Political Overview

Indonesia has made impressive democratic gains since the fall of an authoritarian regime in 1998, developing significant political and media pluralism and undergoing multiple peaceful transfers of power. Major challenges persist, including systemic corruption, discrimination and violence against minority groups, conflict in Papua, and the politicized use of defamation and blasphemy laws.

This report has been abridged for Freedom on the Net 2025 due to ongoing budget constraints. Please consider making a donation to support future editions of this vital resource.

For additional background information, see last year’s full report.

A Obstacles to Access

A1 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Do infrastructural limitations restrict access to the internet or the speed and quality of internet connections? 4.004 6.006
A2 1.00-3.00 pts0-3 pts
Is access to the internet prohibitively expensive or beyond the reach of certain segments of the population for geographical, social, or other reasons? 1.001 3.003
A3 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Does the government exercise technical or legal control over internet infrastructure for the purposes of restricting connectivity? 4.004 6.006
A4 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Are there legal, regulatory, or economic obstacles that restrict the diversity of service providers? 4.004 6.006
A5 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Do national regulatory bodies that oversee service providers and digital technology fail to operate in a free, fair, and independent manner? 2.002 4.004

B Limits on Content

B1 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Does the state block or filter, or compel service providers to block or filter, internet content, particularly material that is protected by international human rights standards? 3.003 6.006
B2 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Do state or nonstate actors employ legal, administrative, or other means to force publishers, content hosts, or digital platforms to delete content, particularly material that is protected by international human rights standards? 2.002 4.004
B3 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Do restrictions on the internet and digital content lack transparency, proportionality to the stated aims, or an independent appeals process? 1.001 4.004
B4 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Do online journalists, commentators, and ordinary users practice self-censorship? 2.002 4.004
B5 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Are online sources of information controlled or manipulated by the government or other powerful actors to advance a particular political interest? 1.001 4.004

Score Change: The score declined from 2 to 1 because government and military officials have hired buzzers to manipulate online narratives, according to new research.1

B6 1.00-3.00 pts0-3 pts
Are there economic or regulatory constraints that negatively affect users’ ability to publish content online? 1.001 3.003
B7 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Does the online information landscape lack diversity and reliability? 3.003 4.004
B8 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Do conditions impede users’ ability to mobilize, form communities, and campaign, particularly on political and social issues? 4.004 6.006

C Violations of User Rights

C1 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Do the constitution or other laws fail to protect rights such as freedom of expression, access to information, and press freedom, including on the internet, and are they enforced by a judiciary that lacks independence? 2.002 6.006
C2 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Are there laws that assign criminal penalties or civil liability for online activities, particularly those that are protected under international human rights standards? 1.001 4.004
C3 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Are individuals penalized for online activities, particularly those that are protected under international human rights standards? 2.002 6.006
C4 1.00-4.00 pts0-4 pts
Does the government place restrictions on anonymous communication or encryption? 3.003 4.004
C5 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Does state surveillance of internet activities infringe on users’ right to privacy? 2.002 6.006
C6 1.00-6.00 pts0-6 pts
Does monitoring and collection of user data by service providers and other technology companies infringe on users’ right to privacy? 3.003 6.006
C7 1.00-5.00 pts0-5 pts
Are individuals subject to extralegal intimidation or physical violence by state authorities or any other actor in relation to their online activities? 2.002 5.005
C8 1.00-3.00 pts0-3 pts
Are websites, governmental and private entities, service providers, or individual users subject to widespread hacking and other forms of cyberattack? 1.001 3.003

On Indonesia

See all data, scores & information on this country or territory.

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Country Facts

  • Population

    275,500,000

  • Global Freedom Score

    56 100 partly free

  • Internet Freedom Score

    48 100 partly free

  • Freedom in the World Status

    Partly Free

  • Networks Restricted

    Yes

  • Websites Blocked

    Yes

  • Pro-government Commentators

    Yes

  • Users Arrested

    Yes