Jakarta. Tech giant Meta announced on Thursday that it will not be obligated to pay for news content shared on its platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, despite the recent issuance of a presidential decree on publisher rights.

The decree, signed on Monday by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, urges tech companies to ensure fair and equal treatment for all media outlets and mandates them to pay for the news content posted on their platforms.

During the National Press Day commemoration earlier this week, the president stated that the decree aims to promote quality journalism and ensure the sustainability of mainstream media.

However, Meta claims exemption from the obligation to pay Indonesian news publishers and broadcasters. The company asserts that news content on its platforms originates from publishers themselves and is not initiated by Meta for commercial purposes.

"Following multiple rounds of consultations with the government, we understand Meta will not be required to pay for news content that publishers voluntarily post to our platforms,” Rafael Frankel, Meta’s Director of Public Policy in Southeast Asia, said in a statement. 

“We appreciate the progress that policymakers have made towards ensuring that the Presidential Regulation on Quality Journalism recognizes the value that news publishers find in our free services,” he added.

News content on the social networking site Facebook is primarily posted voluntarily by news publishers on their official accounts to expand readership and boost web traffic.

Meta recently introduced a free service called WhatsApp Channels, aiming to assist news publishers in expanding their reach.

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