Digital Citizenship in Indonesia

In another article for Inside Indonesia M Zamzam Fauzanafi discusses digital citizenship, an element which, much like throughout the rest of the world, has become a topic of frequent conversation in Indonesia. The focus of the study is FBN, the Fesbuk Banten News, a platform which allows citizens to do reporting through social media. In its journalism the FBN specializes in three categories relating to the political dynasty that has retained control over the region for almost twenty years: Poor infrastructure caused by corruption, allegations surrounding the family, and corrupt election campaigns. In an area where the public sphere is "an affective, emotional sphere" with limited options for outspoken criticism of the government, Fauzanafi notes that FBN offers ordinary citizens the opportunity to "reclaim their own collective morality by defacing the immorality of their leaders." Once again the quest to redefine morality in the face of modernization and modern corruption surfaces as a common theme. On a similar note I would also assume that the use of digital platforms to transcend cultural expectations involving public discourse is increasingly common throughout Southeast Asia. What will this augmentation to freedom of speech mean for future elections in Banten and throughout Indonesia? Governments are now more vulnerable to the scrutiny of citizens while increasingly unable to control the dissemination of news; a fact that necessarily entails immediate institutional change.