Digital repression and its implications for civic space in Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic: a narrative review / Siti Witianti … [et al.]

The state of crisis and emergency due to Covid-19 has been exploited by governments of many countries, both autocratic and democratic, to intensify surveillance and restrict freedom of online expression. Indonesia is no exception. This article studies how digital repression occurred in Indonesia during the Covid-19 pandemic and its implications for civil society's space for movement and maneuver. We use a narrative review method by adopting PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) criteria. We found that the Indonesian government practices all forms of digital repression conceptualized by Feldstein (2020): surveillance, censorship, social manipulation and disinformation, internet shutdowns, and targeted persecution of online users. All these forms of digital repression have indeed contributed to the weakening and shrinking of the civic movement in Indonesia to some degree. However, new resistance and maneuvers continue to emerge. Dissent always seems to find a way to seep out of the undercurrent in the face of repression, both offline and online. This article makes an important contribution to understanding the landscape and dynamics of digital repression in Indonesia, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, and helps in projecting the opportunities and challenges for civic movements in the post-pandemic period.