Several large online services, including Steam, have been blocked in Indonesia after failing to register with the country’s Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (Kominfo).
This follows a regulation that was passed into law in 2021, requiring all foreign companies to register with the Electronic System Operator list.
Registration with Kominfo would allow the Indonesian government to request access to citizens’ personal information. Recently, online services that did not register have been blocked in the country, including Steam, Epic Games, Paypal, Origin, Yahoo, Amazon and more.
This also affects some of Valve’s biggest competitive multiplayer titles, including Dota 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
Steam and other online services blocked in Indonesia
In 2020, a regulation was introduced in Indonesia that would require all foreign online services to register with Kominfo, the nation’s Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. As mentioned above, it was passed into law in 2021 and required all foreign companies to register on its Electronic System Operator list.
The Electronic System Operator list gives the Indonesian government free reign to request access to citizens’ personal information from private foreign companies. Many large companies have registered and complied, including Google, as well as games like Valorant, PUBG Mobile and Roblox.
Kominfo recently moved forward with its promise to block services that have not been registered with the government. The list includes many large online services, including Paypal, Epic Games, Origin, Yahoo and Amazon. Steam was also included, as well as Valve’s large competitive multiplayer games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Dota 2.
While users of these services in Indonesia may be concerned, the bans are not permanent. The government of Indonesia has reached out to these blocked companies about the matter, so long as they register and comply with Kominfo.
Quick update for those asking-The blocks are not permanent, assuming the companies register and comply with the regulation, and Kominfo has already reached out to these companies to ensure compliance and reverse the block.Here is a list of affected services: https://t.co/6K121xVEMP
Unlike some other companies blocked, PayPal has registered with the Electronic System Operator list. The reason behind the ban was due to its failure to meet Kominfo’s July 20 deadline for registration.
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While it is possible for these blocked services to be accessed through the use of a VPN, these companies could soon register and agree to comply with Kominfo’s terms.
While it remains to be seen if and when these companies will register with the Indonesian government, the law’s requirement to hand over users’ private information could be a hindrance for the games industry in Indonesia.
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