Incest word appears in dictionary. - Shutterstock/Casimiro PT
JAKARTA: The police have begun cracking down on a Facebook group that allegedly posts adult content revolving around incest, amid mounting calls for the operators behind these illicit accounts to be brought to justice.
Speaking in a press conference on Saturday (May 17), Jakarta Police spokesperson Adj Sr Comr Reonald Simanjuntak said that the city police’s cybercrime division has opened a probe into a Facebook group called “Fantasi Sedarah”.
The group, which roughly translates to blood relative fantasies, had reportedly been posting incest-themed content and narratives, particularly targeting minors.
It remains unclear, however, if the Facebook group also posted explicit pictures and pornographic materials.
“The Jakarta Police’s cybercrime division will investigate and probe the Facebook [group]. We will investigate and probe everything on it,” he told reporters.
The Facebook group and its content have stirred criticism from netizens across various social media platforms, many of whom are wary because some of the content sexualised children.
Some people have also flagged other groups that posted similar contents. The Communications and Digital Ministry has moved quickly by coordinating with Meta, Facebook’s parent company, to block the group, along with five others that posted similar content.
"These groups fall under the [category] of disseminating [content] that contradict prevailing societal norms," Alexander Sabar, the ministry’s digital monitoring director general, said in a statement on Friday.
He said the content might also harm children. The blocking of these groups, Alexander said, was in line with provisions laid out in a recently-issued government regulation on child protection in the digital world.
The regulation, signed by President Prabowo Subianto on March 28, mandates both public and private digital platforms to ensure their services are free from content harmful to children younger than 17 and that these providers must provide a safe online environment for child development.
But Alexander also said that the success of maintaining a safe digital space does not rely solely on the government and platform providers, but also requires active participation from the broader public.
"We urge the public to help maintain a safe and trustworthy digital space and to take part in monitoring any content or digital activity that could endanger our children’s future," he said.
The Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry said that the content posted on these platforms constituted a form of sexual exploitation and that law enforcement authorities should look to bring the people behind these accounts to justice if the ongoing investigation uncovers evidence of criminal actions.
“Such groups clearly contradict moral values and endanger the safety and future of Indonesia’s children,” the ministry’s secretary Titi Eko Rahayu said in a statement on Friday.
“Sexual fantasies involving incest are not only inappropriate, but also damage public perceptions of healthy family relationships,” she added. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
