PayPal is available again in Indonesia after mandatory registration

The Indonesian government has lifted the block on PayPal. The payment platform has been registered with the government. The registration makes it possible for the Indonesian authorities to request user data.

PayPal was blocked in Indonesia on Saturday. Under a law passed in 2020, internet platforms must register with the local government. This makes it possible for local authorities to request data from users of internet platforms if necessary. Platforms must also take content offline that is prohibited by local authorities.

Internet platforms were given until July 27, 2022 to register. PayPal, Steam, Yahoo and Epic Games had not and were therefore blocked. PayPal did get the chance on Sunday to open its service for five working days, so that users could access their money. Now that the payment platform has registered on Wednesday, the service will remain available in Indonesia, write The Jakarta Post and Reuters.

The new Indonesian law is controversial. For example, Human Rights Watch has criticized the law. It poses a risk to the right to privacy and the right to freedom of expression, wrote the human rights organization last year. Human Rights Watch is annoyed, among other things, that the Indonesian government uses a broad definition of what is seen as prohibited content.