Taming online risks

The proposal to ban Facebook by Islamic clerics in Indonesia is an obsolete move due to the difficulty in regulating the Internet, writes 'The Jakarta Post'

The Jakarta Post
Monday, May 25, 2009

Rekindling old flames is a popular phrase among Facebook users. For acronym crazy Indonesians the phrase is known as CLBK (Cinta Lama Bersemi Kembali).  It refers to those who find their friends or their former lovers during their school days, 10 or 20 years ago, through this wonderful online social networking site.

This is the kind of thing that has motivated Muslim clerics to meet in the East Java town of Kediri last week. They zeroed in on the amorous side effects of Facebook, believing that it can encourage extramarital affairs.

The clerics have solid reason for their concern; Indonesia is a country whose Facebook users increased nearly seven fold to more than 800,000 last year, making it the fastest-growing country in Southeast Asia.

Globally, it ranks fifth in the world after the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Italy. With less than 0.5 percent of Indonesia's 235 million wired, its potential for growth is immense. It is only a matter of time before it will occupy the top slot.

While technology brings advantages to human life, it also brings problems. It has its pluses and minuses, which we often cannot sift apart like we do our organic and inorganic garbage.

Facebook connects friends, family or informs users about local and world issues. But it can also end up in indecency, if the users so wish, or exchanging hate mail. The clerics are mulling over how to set up guidelines to online flirting. They think an edict on virtual networking should be set up.

The question is can we control online communication?

Unfortunately, the prospect for any control is bleak.

The clerics' concern has long been shared by others including organizations at home and abroad or even governments. China has some 300,000 Internet police at work and yet it is still far away from being able to control it.

In this globalized world, straight banning, like the one proposed by a leader of the Ulema Council, looks increasingly obsolete. The government did recognize the possible danger coming out from the online world and responded last year with Law No. 11 on Information and Electronic Transaction.

Clauses 27 and 28 of the Law stipulate that anyone spreading indecency or hate mail is committing a crime. The clerics may well take this Law as a cue for their further action rather than issuing a new edict.

Concerns about new media are not without historical precedent. In 19th century Europe, similar concerns were expressed when the mass media made their debut. People were worried about the impact of the "information revolution" on public morality.

This lesson from history should make the clerics regain their peace of mind at the very least. History shows the human race has always been able to work out issues blocking their ways forward.

Another way to stem the online danger is to equip our citizens with an intangible inner shield. This can be done, among others, through moral education in schools, in the community and at home.

We need to remember that prohibitions and other restrictive measures will never be effective.

Date Posted: 5/25/2009