DuckDuckGo confirmed to BleepingComputer via Reuters that Indonesia has blocked their service due to censorship policies. Unfortunately, there is currently no way to unblock it. This is similar to China, where authorities have blocked them for about a decade.
Indonesia has the world’s biggest Muslim population. It has strict rules that ban the sharing online of content considered as indecent.
After citizens of the country reportedly complained about pornographic content and online gambling from its search results, the ban on the privacy-focused search engine comes. Indonesia announced that they had acted to block almost 600,000 online gambling portals and took action against 5,000 bank accounts involved in the activity. They made the announcement last January.
Moreover, the government has also formerly blocked various pornography sites, Reddit and Vimeo. It also imposed temporary or partial restrictions on Tumblr, Telegram, TikTok, Netflix, and Badoo. As a result, users in Indonesia have turned to VPNs, or Virtual Private Network software, as an alternative. This allows them to bypass the restrictions. Nonetheless, the Indonesian government plans to block free VPNs.
Usman Kansong, a communications ministry official, told Reuters that they blocked DuckDuckGo after receiving numerous complaints about uncontrolled online gambling and pornography content in its search results.
DuckDuckGo, a Pennsylvania-based private company, did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside normal U.S. business hours.
Indonesia has promised to crack down on online gambling in recent months. It has also banned access on numerous websites. Government data showed 3 million Indonesians went online to gamble in 2023 even though it is illegal. They estimated the spending at $20 billion, roughly 1.5% of the gross domestic product.
The details on the subject are still unconfirmed. DuckDuckGo should provide more confirmation. Who knows? Malaysia might do the same.
