JAKARTA — Indonesia is working on a major overhaul of its copyright laws that would make it the first country in Southeast Asia to formally address artificial intelligence in such legislation, according to a draft bill reviewed by Reuters.
The proposed changes would extend copyright protections to people who use AI as a tool in creating content, though fully AI-generated works with no human involvement would not qualify. The draft bill did not specify exactly how much human participation would be required to earn protection.
Hermansyah Siregar, an Indonesian law ministry official responsible for intellectual property matters, confirmed the draft was authentic and said it would mark the first time AI is explicitly recognized under Indonesia’s copyright framework.
“The development of generative AI has disrupted the copyright framework,” Siregar said. “If unregulated, it could kill human creation.”
Among the bill’s key provisions are a ban on using AI to replicate a creator’s “distinctive style,” a requirement to disclose when AI was used in producing content, and mandates that tech platforms pay compensation when they aggregate, republish, link-preview, or use news content for AI training purposes. That money would flow through state-supervised organizations to news publishers.
The rules would cover a wide range of content types, including journalism, photography, video games, computer programs, and films.
The legislation originated in parliament and was sent to the government for review. It was not immediately clear when it might become law.
Tech giant Google issued a statement last month pushing back on the proposed overhaul. The company warned that overly rigid requirements could hurt local creators and stifle innovation.
“Rigid, overbroad mandates, however, would harm local creators, slow innovation, and leave Indonesia as an international outlier, ultimately discouraging the investment needed to drive its digital future,” Google said, adding that it planned to engage with the government on the matter.
Non-compliant platforms could face serious consequences under the bill, including the loss of their local business permits in Indonesia.
IP and entertainment lawyer Ari Juliano Gema noted that the bill might raise alarms among technology companies because it appears to blur the line between commercial AI use and AI used for research purposes.
Meta and TikTok had not responded to requests for comment at the time of reporting. Meta’s Instagram and Facebook platforms are widely used in Indonesia.
Siregar pointed to an ongoing court case led by the New York Times — one of several lawsuits brought by copyright holders against tech companies over the alleged unauthorized use of their content to train AI systems — as an example of why global regulation is needed.
He also noted the draft is not finalized and that the government is still collecting input.
The proposed legislation comes as Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, is actively pushing to expand AI adoption and weave the technology into major government programs. On Thursday, Indonesia was among 29 nations that signed an agreement in Shanghai to create an intergovernmental body that China says will promote international cooperation and governance of AI.
China’s president on Friday laid out a vision for a new global AI framework, pledging to share open-source AI tools and expertise with developing nations while calling for AI systems to remain under human oversight and for countries to develop early-warning mechanisms to manage AI-related risks.
Indonesia’s transparency requirements for AI-generated content are in line with rules taking shape in other parts of the world. The European Union’s AI Act requires clear labeling when AI is used to create or alter images, video, or audio in ways that constitute a deepfake, with some exemptions for artistic or satirical content. The United States and Singapore do not explicitly mention AI in their copyright laws, but both countries’ copyright offices have stated that human contribution is required for copyright protection.
