Indonesia Plans AI Copyright Law, Raising Questions for Creators and Tech Firms

Indonesia is preparing a major overhaul of its Copyright Law that would, for the first time, explicitly regulate the use of artificial intelligence (AI). If enacted, the country could become the first in Southeast Asia to incorporate AI into its copyright framework.

Under the draft bill, works created with the assistance of AI would qualify for copyright protection, provided there is sufficient human involvement. Fully AI-generated works, however, would not be eligible for protection.

The proposal does not specify how much human input would be required to meet that threshold.

The government is also proposing to prohibit the use of AI to imitate a creator's "distinctive style". In addition, content created or significantly modified using AI would have to disclose that the technology was used.

Another provision likely to draw attention is a requirement for digital platforms to compensate news publishers for using their content. The rule would apply to news aggregation, link previews, and the use of journalistic material to train AI models. The payments would be distributed to publishers through state-supervised collective management organisations.

The proposed legislation would cover a wide range of copyrighted works, including films, photographs, video games, computer software, and journalism.

Hermansyah Siregar, Director of Copyright at Indonesia's Ministry of Law, said the rapid development of generative AI had fundamentally changed the copyright landscape and made new regulations necessary. Without clear rules, he argued, human creativity could be undermined.

The proposals have, however, raised concerns within the technology sector. Intellectual property lawyer Ari Juliano Gema said the draft could blur the distinction between commercial AI use and research, potentially discouraging innovation.

Google, which previously criticised Indonesia's proposed copyright reforms, warned that overly broad regulations could hamper innovation, disadvantage local creators, and reduce investment in the country's digital economy. The company said it would continue engaging with the government as discussions progress.

The proposed reforms come as Indonesia seeks to expand the use of AI across multiple sectors. The government says the draft remains open to public input before it is submitted for further deliberation in parliament.