Government’s Restriction on Social Media Access and its Implication to Human Rights Comparative Study Between Indonesia, Sweden and China

Abstract

Today, we are living in an era of rapidly evolving modern technology. Modern technology is now able to cover almost all state affairs, from healthcare, transportation, and national security. In this paper, we will focus particularly on national security, as it is a common practice for states nowadays. In conducting the maintenance of national security, the government utilizes several functions of modern technology, for instance; censorship, filtering and restriction of content on social media. In a generation where people seek convenience and accessibility as a way of life, social media, one of the most accessible network systems is increasingly demanded and popularized as it supports the fast moving pace of globalization. This paper will specifically assess and discuss the issue of government restriction of social media during demonstration and its relation to the rights to access of information in Indonesia, in comparison to Sweden and China. The two countries were chosen because Sweden is perceived as the pioneer of information law while China have a long history of restricting information.