Team Buffington Indonesia, a country of more than 280 million people and famous for its beautiful beaches and spicy food, is in the news for shutting down DuckDuckGo, a US-based search engine focused on privacy.
DuckDuckGo has long been praised for its commitment to user privacy, making it a popular choice for those who care about their digital footprint. Unlike many other search engines, DuckDuckGo does not track users or create personalized profiles.
Apparently the Indonesian government is very worried that people could use the search engine to access pornographic websites and online gambling – which is illegal in the country.
Chart: overview of Indonesia smartphone market in Q1 2024
This growth was driven by strategic channel rearrangements by vendors prior to the Ramadan season and strong demand across price segments.
While it seems fair to protect people from things that could harm them, banning an entire search engine feels like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Hello, VPN!
Although the country is cracking down on sites that promote adult content and online gambling, government data shows 3 million Indonesians gambled online last year, spending about $20 billion, per Reuters.
Indonesia plans to ban e-commerce transactions on social media
New regulations in Indonesia may prohibit e-commerce transactions on social media. For a country with a population of 270 million inhabitants and a rapidly growing e-commerce sector, which recorded almost $52 billion in e-commerce transactions in 2022, and a large part of this was realized from social commerce, this can be
However, DuckDuckGo is not the only website banned in the country. Social media Platform Reddit and video hosting platform Vimeo have also been blocked for the same reason. However, one wonders how DuckDuckGo differs from other search engines like Google that are still available in the country.
While governments have a responsibility to protect their citizens from harmful content, excessive censorship can stifle innovation and limit access to knowledge and freedom of information.