Indonesia media faces heightened digital repression

At a “Ngopi Media Talks” event in Jakarta on June 22, 2026, Tempo Media Group CEO Arif Zulkifli (known as Azul) warned that pressure on the press has moved from overt bans to covert tactics such as cyber‑attacks and doxing. He said, “Like doxing against journalists and the media,” and noted that Tempo experiences daily distributed‑denial‑of‑service attacks, the latest occurring three hours before the discussion.

Safenet Executive Director Nenden Sekar Arum described a broader pattern of digital repression, citing threats, doxxing, DDoS attacks, account suspensions and algorithmic shadow‑banning. She observed, “From the 2025 trends, it turns out that digital repression has mutated.” Arum also explained how regulatory tools—mandatory registration as Electronic System Providers and possible revocation of permits—are used to silence critical outlets.

Both speakers highlighted the systematic nature of these attacks and affirmed their commitment to factual, unbiased reporting despite the intimidation.