Overview

Indonesia's Minister of Health recently took the significant step of asking the Ministry of Communication and Informatics to block all cigarette advertising on social media platforms, based on Letter of the Ministry of Health to the Ministry of Communication and Informatics No. TM.04.01/Menkes/314/2019 on the Blocking of Cigarette Advertising on the Internet. According to the Minister of Health, the percentage of underage Indonesian smokers, i.e. aged 10 – 18 years old, increased from 7.2 % in 2013 to 9.1 % in 2018 as a direct result, it is claimed, of the online advertising of cigarettes (“Online Ads”).[1]

Growth in Online Ads has been huge in recent years and almost all major companies have come to depend upon their efficacy. Unfortunately, however, to date, no rigid regulatory framework for Online Ads has been introduced.  This means that that, in the absence of any legal certainty, advertising bans have had to be implemented by the government on a case-by-case basis. Moreover, Indonesia lacks a single, codified legal framework which addresses the realm of advertising in general, let alone Online Ads.

This edition of Indonesian Law Digest (ILD) will offer explanations and analyses of the advertising landscape in Indonesia and will address both conventional advertising and Online Ads. Our discussion breaks down into the following sections:

1. The Advertising Landscape in Indonesia:

1. Definitions and Methods; and
2. Advertising Content.

2. Conventional Advertising:

1. Print Media; and
2. Billboard Installations in DKI Jakarta.

3.  Digital Advertising: Broadcast and Online Ads:

1. Broadcast Ads; and
2. Online Ads.

1. The Advertising Landscape in Indonesia ......