Twitter Says It Has Taken 'Appropriate Steps' To Comply With Indonesian Laws As It Faces Potential Ban

After Indonesian Ministry records showed that Twitter Inc TWTR was missing from the list of foreign providers who signed up for the new rules — the company said in a statement to Benzinga it had taken "appropriate steps" to comply with the laws of the land.

What Happened: Twitter has taken appropriate steps in an effort to comply with the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology's (KOMINFO) registration requirement for foreign private electronic system operators (ESOs), the social media giant told Benzinga in a written response.

Earlier media reports showed that as of midday Wednesday, Twitter and Alphabet Inc's GOOGL GOOG Google had not complied with the new Indonesian licensing rules that could see their services temporarily blocked in the country.

Introduced in late 2020, the new rules required internet service providers to sign-up for the laws to ensure the protection of consumer data and that online content is used in a "positive and productive" way.

The Indonesia ministry has said that the providers who would not register before the deadline on Wednesday midnight will be reprimanded, fined and blocked.

The law also gives authorities broad powers to compel giants like Meta Platforms Inc META, Spotify Technology SPOT, Netflix Inc NFLX, Google and others to disclose data of certain users and take down content deemed unlawful or that "disturbs public order" within four hours if urgent and 24 hours otherwise.

Price Action: According to data from Benzinga Pro, Twitter shares closed 2.81% higher at $39.49 a piece on Tuesday.

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