Jakarta, INTI - Deputy Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs, Nezar Patria, has urged digital platforms to establish fair partnerships with news publishers regarding the use of journalistic content in AI-powered search engines.
Nezar noted that AI summary features, often referred to as AI Overviews in search engines, are capable of compiling, summarizing, and simplifying multiple sources, making it easier for the public to access information.
However, he emphasized that the presence of such features has triggered significant disruption within the digital media industry.
According to him, this disruption has led to a massive decline in traffic to digital media outlets, with some websites experiencing drops of between 40 and 70 percent.
The decline in traffic has directly affected media business performance, as advertising revenues have also fallen sharply.
He explained that the latest developments in AI not only enable summarization but also allow systems to perform reasoning, analysis, and data-driven predictions.
These increasingly sophisticated capabilities are seen as potentially further reducing the number of users visiting original source websites.
Nezar stressed that the integration of AI features in search engines is not inherently wrong, as it is fundamentally intended to optimize the information search process for users.
Toward a Fair and Sustainable Digital Market Ecosystem
Nevertheless, he underlined the importance of negotiations between digital platforms and content providers regarding copyright issues, since the material summarized by AI is derived from journalistic works owned by news publishers.
He stated that the core issue lies in copyright discussions, as publishers hold legal rights over their works that must be protected.
The government is encouraging the creation of business cooperation models that can deliver mutually beneficial solutions between digital platforms and news publishers.
One possible scheme is the implementation of licensing payments for news content utilized by AI within search engines.
Such measures are considered crucial to ensuring the sustainability of quality journalism amid the growing use and distribution of AI-generated and AI-processed content across digital platforms.
Nezar emphasized the need for a fair solution to foster a healthy digital market ecosystem where no party is disadvantaged.
Conclusion
The rapid advancement of AI-powered search technologies is reshaping the digital information ecosystem. While these innovations enhance user experience, they also present structural challenges for the sustainability of journalism.
By promoting fair collaboration, strengthening copyright protection, and encouraging balanced business models, Indonesia aims to safeguard both technological progress and the long-term viability of its digital media industry.
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