Yahoo, Paypal, and other gaming websites are blocked in Indonesia due to licence violations

Due to their inability to adhere to licence requirements, Indonesia has blocked the search engine Yahoo, the payments company Paypal, and other gaming websites, an official claimed on Saturday, setting up a social media outcry.

Regulations that went into effect in late November 2020 mandated registration and gave authorities extensive authority to request platforms to hand over user data and remove information deemed illegal or that “disturbs public order” within four hours if necessary and 24 hours if not.

The deadline, which was postponed until Friday, prompted a rush of registrations from tech giants like Alphabet Inc.’s Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, Meta Platforms Inc.’s Instagram, and Amazon.com Inc.

Yahoo, Paypal, and gaming websites like Steam, Dota2, Counter-Strike, and EpicGames, among others, have been blocked, according to Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, a senior official at Indonesia’s Communications Ministry.

Requests for comment from Paypal, the parent company of Yahoo, Apollo Global Management, and the American game developer Valve Corporation, which creates Steam, Dota, and Counter-Strike, did not receive a prompt response. No one at EpicGames was available for comment.

On Indonesian Twitter, hashtags including “BlokirKominfo” (block the Ministry of Communication), “Epic Games,” and “PayPal” became popular. Many users posted remarks criticising the government’s action as harming Indonesia’s online gaming business and independent contractors who utilise PayPal.

When contacted for comment, Pangerapan did not provide any.

The Southeast Asian country is a big market for a variety of tech platforms with an estimated 191 million internet users and a young, social media aware populace.