TL;DR
Meta and TikTok joined Google at a Nov. 11 parliamentary hearing to challenge parts of Indonesia’s proposed copyright law revision. The draft could require payments for news links and set rules for AI training and AI-assisted work, but the current text is unavailable and no vote date has been announced.
Meta and TikTok joined Google in challenging parts of Indonesia’s proposed copyright law revision at a parliamentary hearing in Jakarta on Nov. 11. The bill could require digital platforms to pay publishers when they display or link to news and introduce rules for AI training and AI-assisted works; it remains under discussion, and lawmakers have not announced a vote date.
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The proposal is a parliamentary revision of Indonesia’s Copyright Law No. 28 of 2014. Parliament approved it as an initiative on March 12, 2026, and its Legislation Body is now deliberating it with the government. At the Nov. 11 hearing, lawmakers heard from Google, Meta, TikTok, the Press Council and licensing group Satu Lisensi Indonesia, according to Kompas.
Google objected to payments tied to links and news snippets, a single collective licensing body and mandatory licensing for AI training data, according to reports by Reuters, Suara and Kompas. It also called for platform safe-harbor protections and proposed a text-and-data-mining exception with an opt-out. Google’s representative warned that a levy on news links could leave the company with “no choice” but to stop crawling, indexing and distributing Indonesian news, Reuters reported.
Meta argued that sharing a link is not the same as republishing content and said payment duties could reduce publishers’ traffic and revenue. TikTok said AI disclosure rules should not cover cases where AI merely assists in creating content, and also called for safe-harbor protections. These are the companies’ positions on the draft, not findings by lawmakers.
News Access and AI Rights at Stake
The proposal would affect how news publishers are paid when platforms display their work, while also setting terms for using copyrighted material to train AI systems. If adopted, it could shape the balance between publisher compensation, access to news and platform distribution in Indonesia.
The Press Council presented a different account of the current market at the hearing. Its deputy chair, Totok Suryanto, said platforms account for 80 percent of digital advertising and that referrals from platforms to news sites have fallen by as much as 70 percent, according to the source material. Those figures were presented by the council; their measurement periods and comparison bases were not provided in the material. The disagreement points to a central question for lawmakers: how to support journalism without reducing the routes through which readers find it.
For AI developers and creators, the proposed provisions could affect whether training uses require permission or payment, how much human input qualifies for copyright protection, and whether AI-generated content must be disclosed. The exact obligations depend on the evolving draft and any rules adopted in its final form.
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A Draft Still Under Revision
Reuters reported on AI provisions in a July 17 draft, citing a copy it had reviewed. Law ministry official Hermansyah Siregar confirmed that draft was authentic and said it would be Indonesia’s first explicit recognition of AI in its copyright law. He also said it was not final. The text being discussed in November has since changed, and the full current version was not available for this report.
As described by Reuters, the July draft would bar AI from imitating a creator’s “distinctive style,” require disclosure of AI use, and protect AI-assisted works only if they met a human-involvement threshold. The draft did not specify that threshold. It also proposed placing the use of copyrighted works for AI training under fair-use provisions or licensing agreements, and requiring platform compensation for certain uses of news, including aggregation, link previews and AI training. The July version reportedly included sanctions for noncompliance, potentially including revocation of local business permits.
Indonesia already has Presidential Regulation No. 32 of 2024, which requires digital platforms to support quality journalism. At the hearing, Suryanto said compliance was low and the regulation had not worked as intended, according to Aktual. That assessment helps explain the push for a law, but the proposed bill’s scope and obligations remain unsettled.
“A levy on links would leave Google with “no choice” but to stop crawling, indexing and distributing Indonesian news.”
— Google representative Agung Pamungkas, as reported by Reuters
Key Provisions Remain Unsettled
The full text under discussion on Nov. 11 was not available, and reports refer to different draft versions. As a result, provisions described from the July draft may have changed. Google cited Articles 29 and 30 at the hearing, but the article numbers are provisional because the current text could not be checked.
It is not yet clear what the final bill would require for news links, AI training, licensing or disclosure, or how any human-involvement test would be defined. The material also does not establish what payment rates or distribution arrangements might apply. No vote date has been announced, and the positions presented by the companies and the Press Council do not show what the government or parliament will ultimately accept.
Parliamentary Deliberations Continue
Indonesia’s Legislation Body and the government are continuing to deliberate the proposed revision. The Nov. 11 hearing brought platform companies, press representatives and a licensing group before lawmakers, but the available material does not identify a scheduled vote or the next formal milestone.
Further developments to watch are publication of an updated draft, clarification of the proposed payment and AI rules, and any timetable for parliament to consider the text. Until the draft and legislative schedule are confirmed, the final scope of the bill remains open.
Key Questions
What is Indonesia’s proposed copyright bill?
It is a proposed revision of Copyright Law No. 28 of 2014. The draft under discussion could address payments for platforms that display or link to news and set rules for AI training and AI-assisted works.
What did Meta and TikTok object to?
Meta argued that sharing a news link is not republication and said payment duties could affect publishers’ traffic and revenue. TikTok said disclosure rules should not apply when AI only assists in making content, and called for platform safe-harbor protections.
What did Google say about news links?
Google opposed payments for showing links and snippets, arguing that such a levy could limit access to news. Its representative warned that Google might stop crawling, indexing and distributing Indonesian news, according to Reuters.
Would the bill regulate AI training?
The July draft described by Reuters would place the use of copyrighted work for AI training under fair-use provisions or licensing agreements. The current draft text was not available, so its final requirements are not confirmed.
When will the bill be voted on?
No vote date has been announced in the source material. Parliament’s Legislation Body and the government are still deliberating the proposal.
Source: Thorsten Meyer AI
