Elon Musk's X.com banned in Indonesia – Here’s why
Elon Musk's ambitions for X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, encountered a setback in Indonesia as the website X.com was blocked due to the country's restrictions on online pornography and gambling.
The Ministry of Communication and Informatics in Indonesia stated that the site was restricted because the domain had a history of hosting content that violated the country's stringent laws against "negative" content, including pornography and gambling, reported Aljazeera.
Usman Kansong, the Director-General of Information and Public Communication at the ministry, mentioned that the government had initiated communication with X to obtain clarity on the nature of the site.
“Earlier today, we spoke with representatives from Twitter and they will send a letter to us to say that X.com will be used by Twitter,” Kansong told local media on Tuesday.
As a result of this action, Indonesians are currently unable to access the platform, despite reports indicating that it had approximately 24 million users among the country's population of 270 million.
All about Twitter rebranding
The controversy arose after Musk's recent announcement, where he revealed that Twitter would be undergoing a rebranding, replacing its name and bird logo with a white X on a black background, signifying a significant change for the influential social media platform.
Musk has portrayed the rebranding, which elicited a varied response among users, as an initial move towards converting the platform into an "everything app." This transformation aims to provide services beyond social networking, including payments and banking options.
Apart from X.com, Netflix faced a block from Indonesia's largest telecommunications company, Telekomunikasi Indonesia, shortly after its launch in 2016.
The restrictions were imposed due to concerns about "inappropriate content," including pornography, and were not lifted until mid-2020. Additionally, TikTok, the widely used video-sharing app, also experienced a temporary block by Indonesian authorities in 2018.
