Meta, TikTok join Google in opposing Indonesia's proposed AI copyright rules

JAKARTA: Digital platforms Meta and TikTok joined Google on Wednesday in pushing back against proposed revisions to Indonesia's copyright law that would require digital platforms to pay publishers for displaying news content and set rules for AI.

If the bill is passed, Indonesia could become the first country in Southeast Asia to incorporate AI in its copyright law, as governments globally grapple with the impact of the technology on copyright rules, including the use of work created by humans to train AI models.

Agung Pamungkas, Google's Indonesia government affairs and public policy manager, told a parliamentary hearing that requiring tech platforms to pay compensation for showing links of news content from publishers would limit Indonesians' access to news.

Berni Moestafa, Meta's public policy head in Indonesia, said requiring platforms to pay compensation meant news "publishers could lose readership traffic as well as potential advertising and subscription revenue".

Directing readers to an article is different from reproducing or republishing the article itself, Berni added.

Reuters exclusively reported the planned revisions in July, citing a draft of the bill.

Separately, Noudhy Valdryno, TikTok's head of public policy in Indonesia, told lawmakers that disclosure requirements should not apply where AI is used only in an assistive capacity rather than to fully create content.

Noudhy urged lawmakers to preserve safe-harbour protections, saying platforms cannot reliably determine copyright ownership or licences. - REUTERS