With Indonesia’s parliament set to consider legislation to update existing broadcasting laws “it is the right time to consider changes that should be made,” Yuliandre Darwis (pictured) added. “In this era of globalisation, regulators and regulations must answer the challenges of the new technologies.”

Keynote speaker and former senior UK regulator Tim Suter said the rapidly changing media landscape meant that “old TV” regulatory practices could no longer be used to control the entirety of content available to consumers. A “new media” approach is necessary.

“In the old world of broadcasting,” he said, “the key content regulation relationship was between the state and a few broadcasting companies, with the state operating on behalf of the citizen.”

Today, as people have access to much more content the state’s role is to “provide a basic framework and minimum standards” for a more diverse media industry. However, Suter said the media industry must also be accountable, ensure protection against harm through effective technical tools, and “all the while meet ever-higher consumer expectations for choice, quality, diversity, and delivery”.

Co-sponsored by the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI), the Ministry of Communications and Informatics (Kominfo) and regional multichannel TV association CASBAA, the meeting examined media convergence, the state of current regulation and proposed updated rules and regulations for Asia’s third most populous nation.

John Medeiros, CASBAA’s chief policy officer said pay-TV companies are working to create “safe spaces” for reputable online offerings where viewers can access the content they desire without “malware, pornography and hate speech”.

In return, he said, governments must make their regulatory frameworks clear and workable, differentiate pay-TV from public service broadcasting, and ensure that the content pirates that threaten the supply of reputable content are clamped down on.