🔍 Read the full analysis: Indonesia’s AI Copyright Bill: Why Google, Meta And TikTok Object on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
Google, Meta and TikTok objected at a Nov. 11 parliamentary hearing to provisions in Indonesia’s proposed copyright-law revision. The draft addresses payments for news content and rules for AI training and disclosure, but the text under discussion was not available and the bill is not yet law.
Google, Meta and TikTok objected to parts of Indonesia’s proposed copyright-law revision at a parliamentary hearing in Jakarta on Nov. 11, disputing provisions on payments for news links, AI training and platform responsibility. The draft is still under deliberation and is not law; its current text was not available for review.
The bill would revise Law No. 28 of 2014, Indonesia’s copyright law. It was approved as a parliamentary initiative on March 12, 2026, and is being discussed by parliament’s Legislation Body, known as Baleg, together with the government. According to Kompas, the Nov. 11 hearing included Google, Meta, TikTok, the Press Council and Satu Lisensi Indonesia.
Google challenged proposed payments for news aggregation, indexing and link previews, and objected to mandatory AI-training licenses and a single collective licensing body. Its representative also argued for retaining platform safe-harbor protections. Meta said sharing a link is not the same as republishing content and argued that payment duties could reduce traffic and revenue for publishers. TikTok objected to disclosure requirements when AI is used only as an assistive tool and also sought safe-harbor protection.
The Press Council presented a different view of platforms’ effects on publishers. It told lawmakers that platforms take 80 percent of digital advertising and that traffic from platforms to news sites has fallen by up to 70 percent, according to the source material. These figures were presented by the council; the available reporting does not provide their underlying methodology or comparison periods.
AI copyright bill faces platform objections
Google, Meta and TikTok challenged parts of Indonesia’s proposed copyright revision at a November 11 hearing. The bill remains under discussion, and the text considered at the hearing was not available.
What platforms challenged
Their objections focus on proposed duties for news distribution, AI training and platform responsibility.
Links and licensing
Objected to payments for news links and previews, mandatory AI training licenses and a single licensing body.
Sharing is not republishing
Argued that link sharing differs from republishing and payment duties could reduce publisher traffic and revenue.
AI assistance and liability
Objected to disclosure when AI is only an assistive tool and sought safe-harbor protection.
The competing concerns
The hearing surfaced different views of how platforms affect journalism and creators.
- Broad payment duties could make news discovery harder.
- Training licenses and liability rules could add costs for services.
- Google argued link levies could affect crawling and distribution.
- Platforms take 80% of digital advertising, it told lawmakers.
- Referrals from platforms to news sites have fallen by up to 70%, it said.
- The source material gives no methodology or comparison periods for these figures.
What remains unsettled
The July draft reported by Reuters may differ from the version discussed in November.
The November hearing draft was unavailable, and earlier clauses may have changed.
Questions include training permissions, AI disclosure, human contribution and platform safe harbors.
Baleg and the government are discussing the revision; no vote timetable was reported.
News Links and AI Training at Stake
The proposal could affect how Indonesian publishers are paid when platforms display or distribute their journalism, including through link previews. It also raises questions about whether copyrighted material may be used to train AI systems, and whether rights holders must license it. Those choices could shape the costs and conditions for operating search, social media and AI services in Indonesia.
The competing positions reflect different concerns. Platforms argue that broad payment and licensing duties could make news discovery harder, burden services that handle enormous volumes of online material, or redirect traffic away from publishers. The Press Council’s testimony points to a different concern: publishers may be losing advertising income and referral traffic while platforms benefit from distributing news. The bill’s final wording will determine how those interests are balanced; the hearing itself did not settle them.
For creators, the proposal could affect recognition and payment for work used in AI systems, as well as disclosure when AI contributes to a finished work. For developers, rules on training data and liability could change what permissions they need. These are possible effects of the draft, not established outcomes: the text remains under discussion and could change.
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A Draft Still Under Revision
Reuters reported on AI provisions in a July 2026 draft, citing a bill text authenticated by Hermansyah Siregar, a law ministry official overseeing intellectual property. Siregar said the draft would explicitly recognize AI in Indonesia’s copyright law, while stressing that it was not final. The version discussed in July may differ from the text considered at the November hearing.
As Reuters described that earlier version, it would address whether AI may imitate a creator’s distinctive style, when AI use must be disclosed, and when a work made with AI could qualify for copyright protection. It also proposed placing AI training on copyrighted works under fair-use provisions or licensing agreements. The July draft reportedly excluded fully AI-generated works from protection, while leaving the required degree of human involvement unspecified. Those provisions should not be treated as confirmed features of the current draft.
The bill also builds on Presidential Regulation No. 32 of 2024, which requires digital platforms to support quality journalism. At the hearing, Press Council deputy chair Totok Suryanto said compliance with that regulation has been low and that it has not worked as intended, according to Aktual.
“Google would have “no choice” but to stop crawling, indexing and distributing Indonesian news if required to pay a levy on links.”
— Google representative Agung Pamungkas, as reported by Reuters
The full version being considered at the November hearing was not available in the source material. Reports refer to different draft versions, and the bill has changed since July. Article numbers cited by news outlets for provisions on indexing and news snippets may therefore be provisional. The July draft’s AI clauses likewise cannot be assumed to appear unchanged in the current text.
It is also unclear how the bill would define fair use, what human contribution would qualify an AI-assisted work for protection, how a collective licensing body would operate, or what exceptions would apply to training data. No vote date was announced in the available reporting. The companies’ arguments are positions submitted to lawmakers, not evidence that the predicted effects will occur.
Parliamentary Deliberations Continue
Baleg and the government are continuing to deliberate on the proposed revision. The next substantive step is for lawmakers to clarify the text, including how it treats news links, collective licensing, AI training, disclosure and platform safe harbors. The available source material gives no timetable for a vote.
Readers should watch for an updated draft or an official account of any amendments before treating specific clauses as settled. Until parliament approves the bill and it completes the applicable legislative process, the proposed obligations remain under discussion rather than rules in force.
Key Questions
Has Indonesia passed the AI copyright bill?
No. The proposal is still under parliamentary deliberation and is not law. No vote date was announced in the available reporting.
Why do Google, Meta and TikTok object?
They raised concerns about payments for news links and previews, AI-training licenses, platform liability and safe-harbor protections. Their specific objections differ, and they are arguments made to lawmakers rather than confirmed effects of the bill.
What AI rules appeared in the July draft?
Reuters reported that the July version addressed AI disclosure, imitation of a creator’s distinctive style, protection for AI-assisted works and licensing or fair use for training data. The draft was not final, and its provisions may have changed.
What does the Press Council say about the platforms?
The council told lawmakers that platforms take 80 percent of digital advertising and that referrals from platforms to news sites have fallen by up to 70 percent. Those figures are attributed to the council; the source material does not give their methodology or comparison periods.
When will parliament vote on the bill?
No vote date was reported. The legislation is being discussed by parliament’s Legislation Body and the government, and the current draft text was not available in the source material.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
