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Indonesia Wants To Criminalize Memes (dailydot.com)

While the United States has the First Amendment to justify the spread of memes that may ridicule political figures for example, the Indonesian government doesn't. In fact, it is looking to criminalize internet users for posting memes. The Daily Dot reports via Jakarta Post: Its Electronic Information and Transactions Law (ITE) punishes any electronic media communication that incites fear or embarrassment under its defamation article. The public has continuously called for the article's removal, but instead Indonesia is introducing more restrictions to freedom of expression. Posting memes, texts, pictures, or videos would be punishable if found to have a defamatory or slanderous tone. According to the Indonesian government, this provision stands to prevent and control cyberbullying. But it can further be used as a political tool against opposition during elections. Since its implementation in 2008, 200 people have been prosecuted according to data from the Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network. Among the most notable cases, was the prosecution of Prita Mulyasari in 2009 for complaining about Omni International Hospital services on an online mailing list.

163 comments

  1. I think... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Indonesia would be better off with Scientology.

    1. Re:I think... by fbobraga · · Score: 1

      Lord Xenu must take it as an offense!

    2. Re:I think... by unixisc · · Score: 1

      Even though I'm not a Scientologist, I would agree. Since Scientology would then replace Islam

  2. Someone should make an Indonesia Stupid Meme by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 1

    Stupid is as stupid does. Someone should make a meme pointing out how stupid Indonesia is.

    Something like this, this or this

    --
    A downvote is NOT I disagree.

    1. Re:Someone should make an Indonesia Stupid Meme by Big+Hairy+Ian · · Score: 1

      Surely thanks to this Indonesia is already a stupid meme

      --

      Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.

    2. Re:Someone should make an Indonesia Stupid Meme by JoeMerchant · · Score: 1

      Thing is, Indonesia will filter that meme from their media, so the people who need to hear the message, won't. A lot like North Korea today, and the USSR in the 1970s.

    3. Re:Someone should make an Indonesia Stupid Meme by sbrown7792 · · Score: 1
    4. Re:Someone should make an Indonesia Stupid Meme by Hylandr · · Score: 2

      I know this is a slippery slope but I for one would love to see Meme's disappear. If you are unable to articulate your thoughts in an educated manner then you really have no place at the table.

      At this rate our communications will devolve from Memes back to Hieroglyphics. "Dewd she schooled you, she showed you the *bird* "

      --
      ~ People that think they are better than anyone else for any reason are the cause of all the strife in the world.
    5. Re:Someone should make an Indonesia Stupid Meme by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good thing the other 6.99999999999 billion on the planet HAVE a sense of humour. Memes have their place, just as stupid comments like yours do.

    6. Re:Someone should make an Indonesia Stupid Meme by RobotRunAmok · · Score: 1

      I for one would like to see cliches and lazy language like "slippery slope" and "I for one" disappear.

    7. Re:Someone should make an Indonesia Stupid Meme by JoeMerchant · · Score: 1

      Communication is about reaching people, if you don't care to communicate with people who consume memes, that's your choice... it will, however, mean that your ideas are less easily heard by those people.

    8. Re:Someone should make an Indonesia Stupid Meme by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am not normally a grammer/punctuation nazi, as I make my fair share of mistakes. But with you saying people who use them do not deserve a place at the table you should really review what color you are before you call the pot black.

      "Meme's"
      Should not be capitalized, and it possess what?
      "Memes"
      Capitalized again. Do you think this is a proper noun or something?
      "Hieroglyphics"
      That is not a proper noun either. "Egyptian Hieroglyphics" might be but the word alone is not.

      So since you cannot "articulate your thoughts in an educated manner" you don't deserve to be heard do you?

    9. Re:Someone should make an Indonesia Stupid Meme by Rick+Schumann · · Score: 2

      Hello newfriend,
      This was created especially for you: https://imgflip.com/i/1btarm

      Enjoy!

    10. Re:Someone should make an Indonesia Stupid Meme by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 1

      Bingo !

      Brilliant !

      +1 Funny.

    11. Re:Someone should make an Indonesia Stupid Meme by fbobraga · · Score: 1

      "Me too" included

    12. Re:Someone should make an Indonesia Stupid Meme by fbobraga · · Score: 1

      what a piece of crap! :P

    13. Re:Someone should make an Indonesia Stupid Meme by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Indonesia is an islamic state, and islam does not take well to criticism. Their faith must be extremely fragile and also have to be supported by fascist regimes to operate. They do not respect other religions, yet expect themselves to be tolerated.
      I would respect islamic tolerance the day a cathedral is built in Mecca.
      If you ever wonder what the Koran says, pick up a copy and read it. It reads like it was written by an old guy recalling what he learned as a five year old. No wonder that house of cards can't take any huffs and puffs.

    14. Re:Someone should make an Indonesia Stupid Meme by Hylandr · · Score: 1

      Not a cliche or Lazy Language, but a linguistic term used in debate.

      --
      ~ People that think they are better than anyone else for any reason are the cause of all the strife in the world.
    15. Re: Someone should make an Indonesia Stupid Meme by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am playing devil's advocate here, but isn't a linguistic term just a meme?

      But, I take your point, in some sense it is not just a meme. It is also a meme that does not attack anyone. I can see why Indonesia would want to do this, but this seems like the first step toward losing free speech rights. Without free speech a country will quickly turn toward communism, which is (coincidentally) precisely what China would like to see happen. I would argue this is social engineering on the part of China to expand their territory. Quite brilliant if you ask me (although, quite evil as well). Not a shot fired and they will dranatically increase their control over the Asian pacific.

  3. Major religion? by Dog-Cow · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The majority (~87%) are Muslim. This is not a coincidence.

    1. Re: Major religion? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      How quickly did they take the place over? Do the locals not care? Or were they raped/beaten/killed if they did not convert?

    2. Re:Major religion? by TutorialVideo2 · · Score: 0

      All Muslim should be build a new strong unity and remove crime.

    3. Re:Major religion? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Interesting

      Most murderous two nations in C20? Atheist. This is not a coincidence.

      Most belligerent nation in C21? Christian. This is not a coincidence.

      Using religions other than your own as an excuse to dismiss underlying problems? Everyone. This is not a coincidence.

    4. Re:Major religion? by retroworks · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The logical spiral is kind of interesting.

      Read the links. This was a "cyber-bullying" law basically copied from similar USA attempts to stop "cyber-bullying". From that, a silly blog is written and then submitted as TFA by a /. submitter who boils cyber-bullying to "memes". That sets it up for a master persuader like yourself to inform us that the laws to stop cyber bullying come from radical Islam. Oh, wait, sorry... that was MY spin.

      My guess isn't that it comes from Indonesia's peaceful Muslims, but by some sectarian Indonesian graduate of a California liberal arts program. But I don't know that, I'm only able to recognize my own confirmation bias.

      --
      Gently reply
    5. Re: Major religion? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nice try HUMA ABEDIN.

    6. Re: Major religion? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      It was a Hindu country that has been converted to Islam.. It still has a Hindu minority in Bali and the cultural difference in terms of behavior, respect for woman etc is day and night between the two parts..

    7. Re: Major religion? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Let's put it this way: Homosexuals were living normally under Hindus until Muslims took over.

    8. Re:Major religion? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Most tolerant religious countries which passed gay marriage without a single incident while having the majority, at minimum around 50%, of the population declaring themselves religious at the time: Spain, Netherlands.

      Most tolerant Muslim countries which passed gay marriage without a single incident while having the majority, at minimum around 50%, of the population declaring themselves religious at the time: ...

      This is not a coincidence.

    9. Re:Major religion? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What the fuck are C20 and C21? I think you're full of shit.

    10. Re:Major religion? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What the fuck are C20 and C21? I think you're full of shit.

      20th century and 21st century perhaps? Based on what spouts out of your mouth, I think you're the one full of crap.

    11. Re: Major religion? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Spoken like someone who's never actually spent time in Indonesia. Cultural attitudes between muslim and non-muslim areas don't actually differ that significantly.

    12. Re: Major religion? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They didn't take the place over. It was a very slow process and most conversion occurred through proselytizing by Muslim traders. In fact, one key figure in spreading Islam was actually a Chinese Admiral from the Ming Dynasty.

    13. Re: Major religion? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd like to see some source material on the lives of homosexuals during the Majapahit.

      Also, homosexuality is not outlawed in Indonesia and it's probably one of the most progressive Muslim countries in the world in that regard.

    14. Re:Major religion? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who the fuck calls it C20 or C21? That's ridiculous that not only you use it, but expect others to know what it means without sufficient context. (A web search on "C20" does not come up with any reference to it.) And, when I say you're full of shit, it's because you offer no proof. So, post some credible links, douche.

    15. Re:Major religion? by unixisc · · Score: 1

      I don't disagree, but does anyone know what is the official position of the ex-Soviet stan's wrt gay marriage? Y'know, countries like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, et al?

    16. Re: Major religion? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who uses it? Lots of people. Who understands it? Anyone with half a brain.

      Different a/c

    17. Re:Major religion? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not all religions or cultures are made equal. I'd like to think that our secular culture of free speech is superior in those ways.

      Atheism is not a religion. Theists, please stop trying to make it into one. There are no tenets of atheism that you can point to that justifies murder, since there are no tenets.

    18. Re:Major religion? by Man+On+Pink+Corner · · Score: 1

      There's nothing atheistic about a Communist personality cult. The figurehead is an explicit God-substitute. Same mental bug, different exploit.

    19. Re: Major religion? by reboot246 · · Score: 1

      I can believe that someone with half a brain came up with it and actually used it here.

    20. Re:Major religion? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      What you want to say is: "Using politics to deal with religions other than your own as an excuse to force your religion upon others? All of them."

      You are probably referring to the USSR under Stalin whose ideology is closer to Christianity and Nazi Germany whose ideology is closer to (ironically) Maccabees Judaism. They were both ideologies that are similar to religions. They were ideologies constructed by reason (hello Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Marx, ...) but became the revelation of a new kind of religion.

      Stalin was Orthodox Christian and this is where his brutality came from. All the pogroms, exiles to Siberia, gulags, ... existed in pre-USSR times and were tools invented by the eastern Christian church as far back in time as the era of the Roman Empire to deal with people that were considered dangerous for the Christian ideology. The Communist used the same tools for the same purpose, to deal with people that were considered dangerous for the socialist ideology.

      Hitler was a Catholic and many Protestants were happy to accept his anti-Jewish actions since this was what their sect founder Luther also wanted: to kill all Jews. Antisemitism existed since the Hellenic period and had many comebacks in history, sometimes even institutional. Even today antisemitism is alive. Although antisemitism is not the right word. It's not the race that's hated, but the religion. And it is still a simple hatred towards Jews today, although the hatred is justified by blaming a Nationalistic idea called Zionism. Hitler wanted to preserve freedom of religion in his ideal state and had to justify his by Christianity inspired anti-Judaism in a pseudo-scientific way. His racist theories with the Germanic people as the chosen people (which is similar to the chosen people of Judaism) and the "scientific" conclusion that the Semitic race was a vermin that had to be wiped out of existence (although he sided with Semitic Muslims which is in conflict with his own 'revelation').

      Also it are not just worldly leaders who abuse religion, it are often worldly leaders who are convinced of the righteousness of their actions because of the blind dogmatic believe. Hitler was really a believer in his thousand year lasting Dritte Reich with a canonical description of the roles of Germanic man and woman and non Germanic man and woman, as were many of his followers.
      Do you really think that for example suicide bombers would blow themselves up in an attempt to kill many innocents do it because of worldly political reasons? They really do it because they simply believe that dying while killing 'infidels' brings them to paradise.

      Every ideology, with or without a god, can have blind dogmatic believers in this ideology. It are blind dogmatic believers who often cause problems. Not because of pure political motivation, but out of blind believe. The socialist revolutionists all over the world had such a blind believe in their ideology that they often killed everyone who didn't agree with them.

      But blind believers don't always kill people. That doesn't mean that their world view is still a happy place to live in. Just look at the many orthodox/radical Christian villages in Europe and the US. They don't kill people, but don't accept non religious world views. Simple things as evolution are rejected. They don't kill you but just ignore you. And they don't reject evolution out of political motives, but simply out of blind dogmatic believe. It is also why we should still be cautious with the current blind believe in cultural socialism (extreme equality of every single individual) and the current blind believe in free markets (completely unregulated, no tax paying ultra rich multinationals). Especially in the cultural socialist movement I see more and more political correctness that dominates the media that blames everyone that doesn't agree with their ideal world view (example the current import of third world people where left wing NGO's work to

    21. Re:Major religion? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well ex-Soviet and 'atheist' Russia has strict laws against homosexual activities and propaganda as instructed by the 'atheist' Russian Orthodox Church.

    22. Re:Major religion? by unixisc · · Score: 1

      I know about Russia - question is - do their nominally Muslim southern neighbors imitate them?

    23. Re:Major religion? by unixisc · · Score: 1

      Atheism requires that one believes that there is no god, or as they like to put it, an imaginary friend. So that makes it a de facto religion - albeit one that believes in NO deity

    24. Re: Major religion? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do you really need a source? This should be common knowledge. Even Transgenderism itself has a holy meaning and approval in Hinduism (look up Koovagam), and its sub-divisions (Buddhism) and such.
      They have homosexual and multi-gendered gods for fuck's sake.
      Go read it up. A simple Google is your source.

    25. Re:Major religion? by mjwx · · Score: 1

      My guess isn't that it comes from Indonesia's peaceful Muslims, but by some sectarian Indonesian graduate of a California liberal arts program.

      Not quite, but fairly close.

      Its Indonesia, which means its as corrupt as a 20 yr old MS Access database. Basically this is just a politician bignoting themeves by putting forward a law that is imposisble to enforce to make it look like he's doing something other than collecting taxpayer money and bribes.

      This kind of shit is commonplace in South East Asia, it happens everywhere from Muslim Malaysia to Buddhist Thailand to the Christian Philippines. Hell, if you want to see some really fucked up laws at the moment, look at the Phils.

      However because Indonesia is Muslim, all the RWNJ's get there panties in a twist over it.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
  4. Censoring the internet never works by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    People will just find new, creative ways to overcome the censorship.

    And there's also that thing called safety in numbers. Can't jail half of the population for reposting funny images.

    1. Re:Censoring the internet never works by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Islamic nations have killed for less.

    2. Re:Censoring the internet never works by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You aren't familiar with the concept of "Selective Enforcement" are you? Where you set the speed limit to change suddenly/dramatically and then only pull over the minority of your choice... or... in this example... You only enforce the meme law on people who make fun of the government... or some other powerful (rich) person(s)...

    3. Re:Censoring the internet never works by sTERNKERN · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It seems to be working just fine in China.

    4. Re:Censoring the internet never works by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Poor A/C, 20 SWAT types see you at 3:00am while you sleep. The outcome is usually straight forward.

    5. Re:Censoring the internet never works by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grass_Mud_Horse

    6. Re:Censoring the internet never works by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's exactly what's happening in many nations with creeping authoritarianism, e.g. the UK: comprehensive Internet activity monitoring and recording, and criminalise a wide variety of speech; then everyone's already guilty, and you pick people off whenever they become annoying.

    7. Re: Censoring the internet never works by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're not familiar with North Korea, are you.

  5. The first step by GeekWithAKnife · · Score: 1


    Perhaps Indonesia runs off with some creative legislation some would frown upon they would wish to make the rule of law the finite authority above religion first...

    --
    A 'singular oddity' is an event that cannot be explained and only happens when you are alone.
    1. Re:The first step by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What does the second amendment of the US Constitution say? Oh wait, that's only in America; there must be a reason for that, and the existence of the wording of the second amendment.

  6. In Other News.. by Nastee · · Score: 0

    Fuck FL, Fuck SC and FUCK PUTIN. This msg brought to u by FUCK stupid nation states.

    1. Re:In Other News.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fuck neoliberalism, for undermining national sovereignty in favor of laws that prevent questioning of a government that seeks to entrench the power of the ruling classes.

    2. Re:In Other News.. by unixisc · · Score: 1

      Fuck FL, Fuck SC and FUCK PUTIN. This msg brought to u by FUCK stupid nation states.

      What exactly do you have against Florida and South Carolina?

  7. #NotAllPepes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    What's more ridiculous, memes being "speech" in Indonesia or money being "speech" in America?

    1. Re:#NotAllPepes by LifesABeach · · Score: 1

      Most likely thinking that laws in one sovereign state apply to other sovereign states.

    2. Re:#NotAllPepes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If I use my money to make a hundred flyers and distribute them around town, that is speech. That's why the Supreme Court said limits on campaign advertising were unconstitutional.

      Word verification: axolotl (a species of amphibian?)

  8. Watch and learn by Opportunist · · Score: 2, Insightful

    We're about to get this too. Can't let a feeling be hurt, can we?

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    1. Re:Watch and learn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who is 'we'?

    2. Re:Watch and learn by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Well, pretty much the US and Europe, with the US being actually more in danger than the EU from what I can currently see.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    3. Re:Watch and learn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who is 'we'?

      Anyone in the US who says something that disturbs one of our Progressive betters.

  9. The concept of "banning" something by Maritz · · Score: 2

    is a meme.

    A meme is any discrete unit of culture. Good luck banning that, idiots.

    --
    I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
    1. Re:The concept of "banning" something by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are conflating the two definitions of meme. Richard Dawkins coined the term meme to refer to what you just stated... but the newer definition is (and what the posts are talking about) are the more contemporary uses of meme images, generally referred to as "memes"

      Slight difference, but significant in this case.

    2. Re:The concept of "banning" something by ChromeAeonium · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Censorship laws don't have to make sense or be applied consistently; they just have to give power to rulers looking to put enemies in jail.

    3. Re:The concept of "banning" something by Maritz · · Score: 2

      One is a subset of the other. Therefore if you say you're "banning memes" you need to specify. If you don't specify, the most reasonable assumption is that you mean the broader term. But yeah - I know what you're saying - they should have said they're "banning funny pictures that they don't like".

      --
      I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
    4. Re:The concept of "banning" something by GrumpySteen · · Score: 4, Informative

      Therefore if you say you're "banning memes" you need to specify.

      No, in this case you really don't have to specify. The law is a general ban on "any electronic media communication that incites fear or embarrassment" and is not actually specific to image memes. It's a broad law that allows the government to punish anyone that puts anything online that they don't like. It covers both definitions of meme and then some.

    5. Re:The concept of "banning" something by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Pendantic nonsense. A 'meme' is whatever the authorities enforcing the law say it is.

    6. Re:The concept of "banning" something by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not anymore bro. Memes is all harambe now

    7. Re:The concept of "banning" something by rpavlicek · · Score: 0

      And here I thought 'pendantic' was a new word...

    8. Re: The concept of "banning" something by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dicks out for Harambe.

    9. Re:The concept of "banning" something by anegg · · Score: 1

      So we need a meme that re-labels meme images to something that doesn't clash with the term meme, so that the meme meme isn't lost. Perhaps meme images could become memage, a term distinct from meme. So now we just need a way to spread the memage meme - perhaps someone could create a memage about the memage meme and get it into circulation?

  10. Cyber bullying? by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 2

    According to the Indonesian government, this provision stands to prevent and control cyberbullying.

    Apparently only government controlled cyber bullying is allowed.

  11. Indonesia is for cows. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Moo you cows.

    1. Re:Indonesia is for cows. by Maritz · · Score: 1

      That seems a bit half-hearted. Tough day? Can't muster up enthusiasm for the whole cows moo thing today? :-/

      --
      I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
    2. Re:Indonesia is for cows. by RuffMasterD · · Score: 3, Funny

      He needs to be careful not to milk that meme too much. Indonesia has the death penalty. The steaks are too high.

      --
      Human Rights, Article 12: Freedom from Interference with Privacy, Family, Home and Correspondence
    3. Re: Indonesia is for cows. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Mmmm. Steak.

    4. Re:Indonesia is for cows. by Austerity+Empowers · · Score: 1

      A1 posts are that important.

  12. feels bad man... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    (obligatory meme ;)

  13. Sadly, typical for a Muslim country. by blind+biker · · Score: 2

    This deplorable lack of self-confidence is common in Muslim countries. In the West we think it's laughable, but it goes to such extremes where bloggers are targeted and killed - see Bangladesh, for instance.

    --
    "The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
    1. Re:Sadly, typical for a Muslim country. by sinij · · Score: 1

      This deplorable lack of self-confidence is common in Muslim countries. In the West we think it's laughable.

      Your micro-aggression against Muslims triggered me. Check your privilege, this is no laughing matter!

    2. Re:Sadly, typical for a Muslim country. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      LOL

      Your micro-aggression against Muslims triggered me. Check your privilege, this is no laughing matter!

      To which one ought to reply (I know you're joking, but there are plenty of pathetic fools who say this sort of thing and are not): "Pray the extremists don't show you what a real trigger is, or what it does while you're standing at the wrong end of their gun." And I say that as a Hillary supporter who loathes trump. Muslims are welcome, extremists are not.

    3. Re:Sadly, typical for a Muslim country. by unixisc · · Score: 1

      You really shouldn't violate blind biker's safe space. Enough of the world is dar ul Islam already

    4. Re:Sadly, typical for a Muslim country. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yep, micro-aggression against Muslims. Many people were delighted with the pleasant news that our tax funded public swimming pool now carries the Halal label!
       
      Yes indeed, my family is really, really happy. We are overjoyed with happiness. What were we privileged people thinking? My wife and I enjoyed swimming together every Thursday and Saturday. What were we thinking, so much hatred towards Muslims. Luckily the mayor chose to embrace the Muslim population to get elected so the poor minority of only 8% of the population get finally what they deserve: total sexual segregation of the public swimming pool. My wife will be happy to buy her first burkini!
       
      Hmm, nope we are not happy. We are angry. We have no more swimming pool. We have to drive 60 kilometer to reach the first swimming pool that isn't Halal (yet?). There is a reason for this micro-aggression against Muslims. Left wing media and politicians put it away as pure racism. Even feminist are confused about what happened. Do they have to cheer this initiative, the first step of sexual segregation? Their most vocal 'leader' considers burkinis as a major step in the emancipation of women in general and cheers for the female only swimming hours because 'men only go to the swimming pool to lust after naked women'. The few feminists who openly express their confusion and openly ask if gender segregation and dress code is really the equality they are fighting for are considered anti women sexists by their 'sisters'.

      I'm really worried about the collaboration of left wing politicians with extreme conservative Muslims. The left wing politicians used to criticize all priests but today they encourage and embrace the most radical imams. Why this shift? Do they really hate western civilization so much that they collaborate with the biggest haters of the west (radical Muslims) since big comrade USSR has collapsed? I think the little revolutionist inside them have always been jealous about Che Guevara and his fighters. I think they look with the same envy at the IS fighters who can kill everyone who doesn't accept their politics. I have no other explanation.
       
      Even our Christian Democratic party has a Erdogan supporting Muslim as speaks person. When some politician asked if it isn't weird that the Christians are represented by a Muslim, he was bullied so hard in the media, by other politicians, by 'influential bloggers, that he had to resign. The only parties that want to accept him are extreme right wing parties. Why can't you even wonder why a Christian party gives such an important job to a Muslim? "We are so good and anti-discrimination" is not really a good answer for true Christians (and none Christians) who still remember the struggle with Muslim slave drivers who have terrorized and depopulated this region for many centuries.

  14. And as crazy as that seems by MikeRT · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's just a more blunt version of what the American left is pushing under the guise of punishing "harassment" and "triggering" language. Exhibit A, the behavior of Twitter where constantly referencing a left wing user is considered punishable speech, but doxxing and threatening the "right" teenage girl with rape and murder will never land you in trouble.

    And that's just social media. Students are getting expelled from universities left and right for simply expressing their opinions. Many of them, in the context of classroom discussions.

    What Indonesia is doing is just a more open and raw version of that. They have no culture of freedom of speech. Our culture is collapsing because of all of the pedants and obnoxious creeps who feel the need to constantly interject "the first amendment does not protect you from private consequences" (thanks for the clarification poindexter). Because a culture of free speech cannot survive such minimalism. It is only a matter of time before people demand that the political and legal systems conform to the popular understanding and culture surrounding the limits of speech.

    1. Re:And as crazy as that seems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The US doesnt have a culture to lose.

    2. Re: And as crazy as that seems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "American left"

      Some subset of American authoritarian left.

      My wife went to Indonesia.
      Jakarta?
      No she went by plane.

    3. Re:And as crazy as that seems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is this why Hillary Clinton declared war against Pepe?

    4. Re:And as crazy as that seems by Mashiki · · Score: 3, Informative

      Is this why Hillary Clinton declared war against Pepe?

      Probably, it's also the reason she's all for the infantilization of academia and supports safe-spaces and trigger warnings for "scary" things. After all, Pepe wasn't a hate symbol until Donald Trump used it. Well that, and the Clinton Campaign wrote an article on it, based off an article where the author was trolled so hard that despite the troll standing on the bridge and saying "I'm a troll, suckers" they still ran with it.

      --
      Om, nomnomnom...
    5. Re:And as crazy as that seems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh my god, you're seriously actually quoting Mike Cernovich as if he's not a drugged-up lover of quack science and awful "advice" for men on how to be masculine.

      Mike has no business getting involved in anything more complicated than a 1-piece jigsaw puzzle.

    6. Re:And as crazy as that seems by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      Students are getting expelled from universities left and right for simply expressing their opinions.

      Private operations have always been like that. BYU expels students for growing a beard.

    7. Re:And as crazy as that seems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Students are getting expelled from universities left and right for simply expressing their opinions.
      Not quite ...
      Students are getting expelled from universities left and right for simply publishing their opinions.
      They can still express themselves all they fucking please til the cows come home.
      They just can't do so in a manner which publishes and distributes those self-expressions to the whole country, the whole planet.
      You've never been allowed to freely "express yourself" in publishing, all governments make sure of that to prevent incitement to criminal acts, copyright protection, plagiarism and other various unsavoury side effects depending on the "regime" in question.
      The students are simply LEARNING about the real world when they have to endure the consequences of their PUBLISHING. A good lesson to learn, in this day and age, and that's what students are supposed to be doing at university.

    8. Re:And as crazy as that seems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The US doesnt have a culture to lose.

      Well, we had one once... but we got a shot and it cleared up.

    9. Re:And as crazy as that seems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      After all, Pepe wasn't a hate symbol until...

      It still isnt.

    10. Re:And as crazy as that seems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why is it that La Clinton is automatically and personally responsible for every opinion spouted by some random blogger who happens to think she's less terrible than the other option?

      Yes, I know politicians use apparently-unrelated bloggers in this way to give themselves plausible deniability. Indeed, Trump has taken it to a whole new level, indirectly employing foreign hackers as well as mere bloggers. But not everyone who has an opinion is in the pay of a candidate. Some people are just idiots.

    11. Re:And as crazy as that seems by Raenex · · Score: 1

      Why is it that La Clinton is automatically and personally responsible for every opinion spouted by some random blogger who happens to think she's less terrible than the other option?

      Why is it you have poor reading comprehension? The person you replied to wrote:

      "After all, Pepe wasn't a hate symbol until Donald Trump used it. Well that, and the Clinton Campaign wrote an article on it, based off an article where the author was trolled so hard that despite the troll standing on the bridge and saying "I'm a troll, suckers" they still ran with it."

      I linked in the Clinton campaign article, which wasn't linked in the original comment.

  15. Holy Clickbait Title, Batman! by AC-x · · Score: 1

    Its Electronic Information and Transactions Law (ITE) punishes any electronic media communication that incites fear or embarrassment under its defamation article ... Posting memes, texts, pictures, or videos would be punishable if found to have a defamatory or slanderous tone.

    Right, so it's not banning memes at all, it's banning slander. The fact you can post slander in the form of a dank meme is not the same as banning memes.

    1. Re:Holy Clickbait Title, Batman! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So what you are saying is that the "I'm with the government; I'm here to help" meme is OK.

  16. Obviously... by hackertourist · · Score: 1

    In soviet India, meme criminalizes you!

    1. Re:Obviously... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But just imagine a beowulf cluster of memes!

    2. Re:Obviously... by Quirkz · · Score: 1

      I thought this was obvious, but this is the first instance I've seen, more than halfway through the comments.

      Note: India and Indonesia are not the same country.

  17. Oye whe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Indonesia is muslim what do you people expect ?

  18. a GIF is not a meme by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A screencap from Lord of the Rings with something stupid written over it is not a "meme". A meme is something like Godwin's Law.

  19. Re:Free speech by GrumpySteen · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm so tired of hearing this bone-headed phrase repeated by people who haven't taken two seconds to think it through. 100% freedom would mean allowing arson, rape, murder and a thousand other behaviors that we currently ban. You want to go back to prehistoric caveman days? Because that's the only time when that sort of freedom existed.

    In order for society to work, you have to recognize the rights of other people and their rights limit your freedom to do whatever you want. We accept lots of limitations on our freedom with the understanding that the other people around us accept those same limitations. The end result is what we call civilization.

  20. Does Indonesia even have political freedom? by swb · · Score: 1

    Call me ignorant (and maybe somebody will), but my running impression of Indonesia is that of a semi-authoritarian government with a lot of laws controlling political speech and behavior in addition to probably enshrining majority religious beliefs in law.

    In this context, the law seems entirely expected. The political hegemony wants to control them because they pose a political control risk, the religious leadership is probably eager to back anything that reinforces the ability to enforce religious power via civil law enforcement, and possibly a few sane, liberal/democracy minded people support it as a way to tamp down on political bosses using meme-speech to whip the unwashed mobs into a frenzy.

    In the end, the forces of authoritarianism will have one more justification for going after speech contrary to the political goals of the authorities.

    It's not news anymore than a report that it rained again in the rain forest.

    1. Re:Does Indonesia even have political freedom? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are ignorant.

    2. Re:Does Indonesia even have political freedom? by unixisc · · Score: 2

      Like any Muslim country, Indonesia is better off w/o political freedom, if the ruling regime is a secular one. If it is a 'free' country, that freedom translates into freedom of Muslims to persecute Christians, Dayaks, Buddhists, Hindus, and any other non Muslim community living in the archipelago. See Aceh for instance. If it's an authoritarian Islamic country, then Singapore and Australia are screwed. If it's an authoritarian secular country, like it was under Sukarno and Suharto, it's fine.

  21. And Yahoo will scan your emails by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And Yahoo will scan your emails to help no doubt! Let no meme go unpunished!

    In Thailand, one man sent a comedy video mocking the coup leader Prayuth to another person on Line (a messaging app), and he is in jail now, facing a 5 year prison sentence.

  22. Justify? WTF? by jcr · · Score: 1

    The first amendment doesn't "justify" our freedom of speech. It forbids the government from interfering with it. Freedom doesn't require justification.

    -jcr

    --
    The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
  23. Re:Free speech by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Except what you call "rights" doesn't mean what you think it means. Your interpretation is just tyranny of the majority.

  24. How will people in Indonesia know... by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 1

    How will people in Indonesia know if their cat wants a cheeseburger or not?

    --
    "That's the way to do it" - Punch
  25. Photosnarks by Geoffrey.landis · · Score: 0

    "Meme" is a word for the carrying of information, in the concept that information can spread and mutate, in analogy to genes carrying genetic information.

    What they're talking about criminalizing is photosnarks.

    --
    http://www.geoffreylandis.com
    1. Re:Photosnarks by omnichad · · Score: 1

      Nice try, but that word's never going to stick.

      Sometimes the name for the concept becomes the name of a common example. And there's nothing you can do about it now.

      As I understand, "meme" was a term for the smallest unit of transmissible information - meaning genetic or otherwise. Blame Dawkins for tying biology to philosophy - he's not the first one to do it. Einstein's theory of relativity is what eventually led to the idea of moral relativism.

    2. Re:Photosnarks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Image Macro
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_macro

    3. Re:Photosnarks by RockDoctor · · Score: 1
      I agree with you on the likelihood of "photosnarks" "catching on", but Geoffrey.landis does have a good point that the definition of the word "meme", as given by it's inventor is far wider than it's popular usage which is almost entirely restricted to what "photosnarks" describes quite well.

      Blame Dawkins for tying biology to philosophy - he's not the first one to do it.

      Since you obviously didn't understand Dawkins writing (difficult - he is a very good, clear writer), you missed that he was tying together the biological mechanisms of information transmission and data fidelity to the computing science understanding of the same - genetics being a digital system, after all. Between all the Shannon information, transmission error rates, and energy costs of computation, it may have escaped you, but both computing and genetics are aspects of information science. And Dawkins made a useful contribution to clarifying those intimate links.

      Philosophy may have been stuck to the pavement near the publisher's office, but as usual made no useful contribution.

      Einstein's theory of relativity is what eventually led to the idea of moral relativism.

      Again, I rather suspect that you've failed to understand Einstein's papers on relativity and need to go back to read them. It might stop you from propagating utter drivel.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
    4. Re:Photosnarks by omnichad · · Score: 1

      I think you should look closer. Whether the scientists themselves did it or not, major changes in understanding in science precipitate changes in philosophy and culture with an odd resemblance.

    5. Re:Photosnarks by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      If philosophy comes to a single settled conclusion (e.g., answer the question "what is good?") feel free to wake me up. It hasn't settled anything for millennia, and remains a complete waste of time and lung-power.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
  26. What are memes by Geoffrey.landis · · Score: 0

    You are conflating the two definitions of meme. Richard Dawkins coined the term meme to refer to what you just stated... but the newer definition is (and what the posts are talking about) are the more contemporary uses of meme images, generally referred to as "memes"

    That's why I call the other one-- typically a picture with a short sarcastic caption-- a photosnark.

    --
    http://www.geoffreylandis.com
  27. Re:Free speech by Geoffrey.landis · · Score: 2

    Freedom either is 100% or is not. Freedom at 99.99% is not freedom.

    Not at all. You can be more or less free.

    I detest all these idiotic absolutist concepts, that divide everything into absolute categories. By eliminating all gradiations, you end up lumping everything together. "In Connecticut you can get a ticket for littering if you drop a cigarette butt on the ground, therefore Connecticut is just as bad as Nazi Germany, they're both authoritarian states."

    No. There are shades of difference.

    --
    http://www.geoffreylandis.com
  28. Cautionary Tale... by stinkydog · · Score: 2

    First they came for the Harambe, and I did not speak out—
    Because I was not a handsome gorilla.

    Then they came for the most interesting man in the world, and I did not speak out—
    Because when I do, I do it silently.

    Then they came for nutsack squirrel, and I did not speak out—
    Because I did not have big nutz.

    Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

    -Mustard Man

    --
    âoeWho knew something as harmless as willful ignorance could end up having real consequences?â
  29. It's possible by MrKaos · · Score: 1

    Than an Indonesian meme has no spoon.

    --
    My ism, it's full of beliefs.
    1. Re:It's possible by Mal-2 · · Score: 1

      It's possible than an Indonesian meme has no spoon.

      It's equally likely that their spoon is too big, and I am a banana.

      --
      How is the Riemann zeta function like Trump rallies? Both have an endless number of trivial zeros.
    2. Re:It's possible by MrKaos · · Score: 1

      It's possible than an Indonesian meme has no spoon.

      It's equally likely that their spoon is too big, and I am a banana.

      That's illegal in Indonesia.

      --
      My ism, it's full of beliefs.
  30. I don't like this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But I do love visiting to get some preteen pussy when I have a convention to attend somewhere in the orient.

  31. Re: Free speech by aglider · · Score: 1

    See what I mean? You cannot really have free speech...

    --
    Sent as ripples into the electromagnetic field. No single photon has been harmed in the process.
  32. Re: Free speech by aglider · · Score: 1

    Free speech is not free action, in my language at least.

    --
    Sent as ripples into the electromagnetic field. No single photon has been harmed in the process.
  33. ICANN by ryanmc1 · · Score: 2

    Good thing ICANN is still under the control of a country that respects free speach. I would hate to see a country like Indonesia have any say over Internet censorship.

    1. Re:ICANN by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Each country should be able to restrict access to content for the people within their borders. There really isn't a universal standard for culture, and thinking that US standards should be universally applied is a mighty arrogant.

  34. What the fuck ?! by Sulik · · Score: 1

    What the fuck ?!

    --
    Help! I am a self-aware entity trapped in an abstract function!
  35. Wew lad! by PPH · · Score: 1

    n/t

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  36. Re: Free speech by inking · · Score: 1

    A million dollars to whoever stabs aglider first. Just saying.

  37. Re:Free speech by PPH · · Score: 3, Funny

    I detest all these idiotic absolutist concepts

    All of them?

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  38. Re:Free speech by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wrong.

    Not arson, rape, murder. But rape murder arson and rape

  39. It's clear they don't want their people to think by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Stupid is as stupid does. Someone should make a meme pointing out how stupid Indonesia is.

    The more of these the better. The world should ruthlessly ridicule the Indonesian government, which is unable to take a dose of critical humor, and clearly will do anything to prevent their people from thinking.

  40. You can't really control memes. by Scroatzilla · · Score: 1

    Admittedly being pedantic, but: The definition of "meme" has really been bastardized by the existence of stupid Facebook photos with humorous text in them.

    A meme-- quoting wikipedia-- will "self-replicate, mutate, and respond to selective pressures." An example of an *actual* meme is that of God. God is, essentially, a human idea that has quite successfully survived thousands and thousands of years. It self-replicates through the fear or imagination of human beings who pass dogma to their offspring, mutates through different flavors of those dogmas, and responds to the culture of the times in an often populist way to ensure the continued acceptance of it.

    So, while controlling "memes" in the bastardized Facebook definition context could be *somewhat* enforceable, controlling *actual* memes-- long-held self-evolving humanity-wide ideas-- would be impossible. In fact, the notion of trying to prohibit the FB memes perpetuates the age-old meme of distrusting authority.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    I recommend reading a bit about memes; memetic theory is enlightening in the context of propaganda, mass media, etc. I often think about this theory when folks pointedly or emotionally ask, "How the hell could you believe that?" This book is pretty good: https://www.amazon.com/Virus-M...

    1. Re:You can't really control memes. by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

      There are plenty of fascist countries in the 19th and 20th century who managed to suppress the spread of ideas more disruptive than an internet meme and did so successfully for decades. This is an old problem, and once people start receiving corporal punishment or capital punishment for their various thought crimes the vast majority of people there will quit doing "memes".

      --
      “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
  41. When cat videos are criminalized... by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 1

    ...only criminals will have cat videos!

    1. Re:When cat videos are criminalized... by ebvwfbw · · Score: 1

      In Soviet Russia the cat has you!

      Too easy.

  42. First you have to _define_ what a meme is. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That might not be so easy...

  43. Indonesia, what a LOLercoaster by Rick+Schumann · · Score: 1

    Unenforcable law is unenforcable.. except within their own borders, of course. What do they think they're going to do, have people extradited to their country because they posted an anti-Indonesia meme or comment somewhere? LOL.

  44. Re:Free speech by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well there actually is freedom to arson, rape, and murder. There's nothing stopping you except mental barriers.
    The state, the police, the law, won't magically detect what you aim to do before it's too late unless you advertise yourself.
    Some magical hand from the sky appearing to stop you, or some magical cuffs forming from the air, won't happen.

    All this civilization and law shit only exists to act after the fact, it can't do shit about the act itself happening. Some minimal mental deterrence at best.
    But anyhow, 100% freedom exists everywhere in the world. The only question is the consequences after the act and how well you covered yourself up. Contrary to stupid TV enthusiasts who watch too much NCIX and all that baloney, the amount of unsolved criminal cases outweigh solved ones, albeit it's never a good thing to make this obvious and known to the public.

    Civilization doesn't exist. Only the idea and outer appearance does. It's just a cover and nothing else.

  45. um, ya by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    good luck with that

  46. Reading fail by fyngyrz · · Score: 1

    I read TFS title as "...criminalize mimes"

    So naturally, I figured that they had a problem with players of Twisted Metal.

    --
    I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
  47. Re:Free speech by NoSalt · · Score: 1

    100% freedom would mean allowing arson, rape, murder and a thousand other behaviors that we currently ban.

    Who said anything about wanting any of that stuff? Freedom of speech, however, should be unlimited and without exception.

  48. Muslim country by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Muslim country has Muslim laws, news at 11.

    Nothing to see here people, move along.

  49. Re: Free speech by TuringTest · · Score: 1

    You don't mind then if I put some speakers under your bed playing my trash metal band songs, blowing at 200â... volume? You won't do anything to limit this expression of my speech, right?

    --
    Singularity: a belief in the "God" idea with the "demiurge" relation inverted.
  50. Re: Free speech by TuringTest · · Score: 1

    That should be 200%, dammit.

    --
    Singularity: a belief in the "God" idea with the "demiurge" relation inverted.
  51. Re:Free speech by Geoffrey.landis · · Score: 2

    I detest all these idiotic absolutist concepts

    All of them?

    Absolutely!

    --
    http://www.geoffreylandis.com
  52. Re:Free speech by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "By eliminating all gradiations, you end up lumping everything together."

    But by not allowing us to lump things together, debate and discussion is so much harder. It's much easier to win, or at least seem to win, and argument when I can say you are just like Hitler. You're going to turn the country into a Nazi state, because you're doing what the Nazis did. Your entire religion is bad because some of the people that follow it are bad.

    Having a civil conversation about things is so much more difficult than calling names and comparing your opponent to to some extreme.

    Honestly, politics is at the leading edge of the frontier of name calling, marginalization, gross exaggeration and how it can much more easily get you what you want. We should all watch and learn. And if you disagree, you're probably a nazi.

  53. Re: Free speech by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Note: freedom of speech is not the same as freedom from the consequences of speech.

    -You can still be punched in the face for mouthing off to the wrong person.

  54. embarrassment? by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

    Too late, the Indonesia government is already an embarrassment. Anything they public automatically is criminal embarrassment.

    --
    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
  55. The correct word is "meNe" by fbobraga · · Score: 1
  56. It matters not... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This was all foreseen in the Bible of Kek: many new fronts will open in the Great Meme Wars. Ultimately, the new gods of Islam and Christianity will not be able to withstand Lord Kek when he comes into his fullest power, but we must keep making memes and invoking his Avatar Pepe to build his meme magic. Praise Kek!

  57. Bad example. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A million dollars to whoever stabs aglider first. Just saying.

    That's not speech - that's a call to "Imminent lawless action".
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imminent_lawless_action

  58. Buzzwords are not a substitute for an accurate sum by blibbo · · Score: 1

    This is verging on click bait.

    "Indonesia wants to criminalize political parody" would be better. I would have some insight about what the TFS is about.

    Include the word "memes" too if you want, it's a real word with a real meaning, but it's just insufficient in this case.

    I don't think we're talking about "I can haz cheeseburgers?â here.

  59. Buzzwords no substitute for an accurate summary by blibbo · · Score: 1

    Edit (typos)
    Buzzwords no substitute for an accurate summary

    This is verging on click bait.

    "Indonesia wants to criminalize political parody" would be better. I would have some insight about what the TFS is about.

    Include the word "memes" too if you want, it's a real word with a real meaning, but it's just insufficient in this case.

    I don't think we're talking about "I can haz cheeseburgers?" here.

    /Sigh/, while I'm up on my soapbox, posting to slashdot on mobile still sucks, since there's no edit/delete can we *please *have preview capability?

  60. Re:Buzzwords are not a substitute for an accurate by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    i find it scary when a government is so afraid of criticism that it criminalizes it. if someone says "the government is arresting / murdering minority groups", then they're either demonstrably wrong - in which case it should be easy to prove that the government isn't killing them - or they're right, in which case they have to face up to it.

    and then, probably, sneer, "what are you going to do about it?"

    and isn't Islam a meme?