Indonesia doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to freedom of speech, but now a the government is now looking at a new law that can now land a citizen in jail for 12 years for Tweeting. Indonesia’s Communication and Information Minister has just declared that anyone caught tweeting illegal content could see jail time of up to 12 years. Illegal content in this case include pornography, gambling, threats, fraud, and blasphemy. Minister Tifatul Sembiring said that “If they violate the laws, they will be punished.” “Principally, every account user could be held responsible by tracing his position and device.” he added.
So Indonesians, the next time you feel the need to lambast someone over Twitter, don’t. Instead, take a chill pill, relax, do some meditating or something along those lines, because a wrong tweet can land you more than a decade’s worth of jail time.
Source: Jakarta Globe