Indonesia blocks free VPNs used for online gambling

Garance Limouzy August 2, 2024

In Indonesia, the Ministry of Communication and Information (Kominfo) has decided to block free Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). Minister Budi Arie Setiadi argues that this will prevent access to online gambling platforms.

Blocking VPNs

Since July 17, 2023, Kominfo has aggressively targeted online gambling, shutting down 2,725,000 gambling sites, blocking 573 e-wallets, and freezing nearly 7,000 bank accounts. Despite these efforts, online gamblers continued to circumvent restrictions using free VPNs, prompting the latest policy. “ It is clear that online gambling is the darkest part of digitalisation”, stated the minister.
Minister Setiadi outlined that three of the identified 30 free VPN providers in Indonesia have already been blocked. While he refrained from naming these providers, he assured that efforts to disable all free VPNs used for online gambling are ongoing, in collaboration with internet service providers (ISPs).
“According to the Director General of Informatics Applications, there are about 23 to 30 free VPN providers in Indonesia. As of yesterday, three free VPNs have been identified as the most commonly used by online gambling players. Gradually, we will shut down all free VPNs used for online gambling. We are working in collaboration with internet service providers,” he explained.

Stricter financial regulations

In addition to targeting VPNs, Kominfo has introduced a new regulation limiting credit transfers to a maximum of one million rupiah ($62) per day. This decision was motivated by recent findings that online gambling transactions often involve significant amounts of mobile phone credit, complicating tracking and enforcement.
“Online gambling uses credit currency. Some have transferred 100 million credits and 2 billion credits. We will continue to evaluate this to restrict public access to online gambling in our digital space,” the minister stated.

The need for collaboration

Minister Setiadi explained that these decisions are the fruit of a collaboration between his ministry, the Director General of Post and Information Administration, and the Director General of Informatics Applications. They have also agreed on stronger monitoring of websites, e-wallets, bank accounts, search keywords, and suspicious credit transfers.

Minister Setiadi also urged the telecommunications industry to support these initiatives.

Digital rights

Kominfo’s decision to block free VPNs may have broader implications for internet freedom and privacy. VPNs are commonly used for legitimate purposes, such as protecting personal data and accessing restricted content. The move could therefore face criticism from digital rights advocates concerned about overreach and unintended consequences on users’ internet experience and freedom.