Jakarta, February 17, 2023 - Indonesia's civil liberties and the quality of democracy have deteriorated over the past decade. This is verified by the Democracy Index 2022 report by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), in which Indonesia is again categorized as a "flawed democracy". Civil liberties in the digital space are also increasingly constrained, as confirmed by the Freedom on the Net 2022 report.
Although repression against activism in digital spaces is increasing, civil society activism in these public spaces is also increasing, especially during the 2019-2021 pandemic. This finding was presented by Muhammad Fajar, a researcher at the Institutes for Advanced Research (IFAR) of the Catholic University of Indonesia Atma Jaya in the webinar "Expanding Digital Activism amid Narrowing Civic Space" held by the Tifa Foundation, last Thursday, February 16, 2023.
"Based on 3,873 data on digital activism campaigns carried out by social movement organizations on social media during 2016-2021, our research records that the 2019-2021 period is the peak period of digital activism. Restrictions on social mobility in the midst of so many public policies that are not in favor of the people and widen the gap of inequality between citizens encourage them to use digital public spaces to take collective action," said Fajar, who is one of the four researchers of "The Role of Digital Activism of Young Groups and Civil Society Organizations in Social Movements in Indonesia (2016-2021)".
In terms of trends, human rights, gender equality and environmental issues dominate the digital activism of social movement organizations, with the public and government as the main targets. By form, sharing tips and information and online protests are the most common forms of digital activism. The pandemic period has also led to a drastic increase in digital activism in the form of webinars to discuss current socio-political issues.
Yoes C. Kenawas, a doctoral candidate in political science at Northwestern University, Illinois, explains, "More aggressive and risky forms of digital activism are only undertaken by a few civil society organizations. This choice is inseparable from the current risk landscape of digital activism in Indonesia, such as the legal risk of being charged with the ITE Law or the Criminal Code, the risk of digital attacks, or such as buzzers and cyber troops, which can delegitimize movements and organizations."
Amid criticism of digital activism as clicktivism and slacktivism, it is important to know the effectiveness of digital activism to support the achievement of movement goals and its real impact. Responding to this need, Aulia Dwi Nastiti, who is also a doctoral candidate in political science at the same university as Yoes, explained the effectiveness of digital activism by civil society in Indonesia based on a case study of three digital activisms on social media, namely #SahkanRUUPKS, #BaliTolakReklamasi, and #PapuanLivesMatter. #SahkanRUUPKS has the highest level of effectiveness, #BaliTolakReklamasi has a medium level of effectiveness, while the effectiveness of the #PapuanLivesMatter campaign is the lowest in achieving movement goals and benefiting digital activism activist organizations.
According to Aulia, momentum and virality on social media are important for digital activism. However, to be effective, digital activism needs to be supported by other factors, including consolidation between activism driving organizations, direct access to policymakers, and campaign intensity. In addition, the diversity of figures involved in activism can provide more legitimacy.
Furthermore, Luthfi Adam, a researcher at Monash University Indonesia, added that the impact of digital activism can be measured by public participation and apathy as well as government concession or repression. Public participation in #PapuanLivesMatter activism increased significantly, while in the case of #SahkanRUUPKS and #BaliTolakReklamasi it increased gradually. In addition, #BaliTolakReklamasi and #PapuanLivesMatter activism also gained support from outside Bali and Papua.
Both #SahkanRUUPKS and #BaliTolakReklamasi activism saw an increase in positive responses from the government, while government repression against #PapuanLivesMatter activism increased drastically. "Activists in all three movements experienced digital repression, such as hacking and counter-campaigning by buzzers. However, #PapuanLivesMatter activists experienced extreme repression in the form of internet throttling and shutdowns," Luthfi explained.
Although digital activism is increasing in quantity, the majority of digital activism is conducted by organizations based in Western Indonesia. This highlights the unresolved disparities in the distribution of access to internet infrastructure, economic, social and political factors between Western, Central and Eastern Indonesia. In addition to closing the digital divide, strengthening the capacity of civil society organizations in Central and Eastern Indonesia, both in terms of institutionalization of digital activism and digital security is urgent to expand the reach and impact of digital activism in Indonesia.
"The current landscape of digital activism makes civil society organizations more capable of implementing counter-repression and counter-narrative strategies as a counter-response to attacks or negative impacts that arise from their activism. Aspects of digital security and the capacity to manage campaigns and form alliances need to be institutionalized so that they are not lost during changes in organizational members," Yoes pointed out.
In response to the research findings and recommendations, Tifa Foundation will organize a series of discussions with digital activists, as well as training. Through this series of activities, digital activists are expected to plan the strategic direction of digital activism in Indonesia in response to the dynamics that influence the current context of digital activism.
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About Tifa Foundation
The Tifa Foundation is an organization that promotes the realization of an open society through cooperation on strategic issues with various civil society organizations in Indonesia, both at the national and local levels. Since its establishment, Tifa has continued to encourage strengthening the role of civil society in protecting the rights of minority and marginalized groups, expanding the right to expression and expression, advocating for the realization of free media, improving governance and transparency and accountability in the formulation and implementation of public policies, as well as a number of other programs that are in line with efforts to create an open society in Indonesia.
For more information about the Data Policy and Governance Program contact:
Debora Irene
Project Manager for Data Policy and Governance
debora@tifafoundation.id