Indonesia's 'Internet Positif' Block of Reddit

In May 2014, during an online pornography crackdown, the Indonesian government blocked Reddit along with Vimeo and Imgur, citing the presence of nudity and sexual content. The blocking was carried out through 'Trust Positif' (popularly called 'Internet Positif'), the state's official filtering system used to restrict sites deemed to contain 'negative content' such as pornography and gambling.

The action was formalised under a 2014 Ministerial Regulation that designated the government's filtering apparatus as the official blocking provider, giving the Communications and Information Ministry (then Kominfo) broad authority to restrict access to foreign sites. Critics noted that the regime swept up general-purpose discussion and media platforms rather than dedicated adult sites.

Reddit, a community discussion platform, was treated similarly to local forums but, unlike some platforms, did not engage with the Indonesian ministry to negotiate selective content removal. Reporting indicates Reddit largely declined to comply with Indonesian content regulations, which authorities have cited as the reason the block has never been lifted.

More than a decade later, Reddit remains inaccessible in Indonesia without a VPN or proxy, making it one of the longest-running country-level blocks of the platform anywhere in the world.