Indonesia’s Joint Meta Team Seen as Key Step in Online Gambling Crackdown

Indonesia’s Communication and Digital Ministry and Meta have formed a joint team to tackle a new wave of online gambling promotion spreading through spam comments on social media platforms.

Indonesia is stepping up its fight against illegal online gambling by forming a joint team with Meta, as authorities seek to respond faster to a sharp rise in gambling-related spam across social media comment sections.

The agreement was reached after a meeting between Communication and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid and Meta representatives in Jakarta. The new team will focus on online gambling promotions that are being inserted into comment sections, especially on high-reach public accounts.

According to Komdigi, gambling-related spam comments rose by around 128 percent in the last two weeks compared with the average findings recorded between January and June 2026. The ministry said the activity is not random, but appears to be driven by organized bot networks designed to flood comment sections quickly and at scale.

Instagram and Facebook have been identified as the main platforms affected by the latest wave. Government accounts, media pages, public figures and influencers have become attractive targets because of their large audiences and high engagement levels.

The new tactic creates a specific enforcement challenge for regulators. While Komdigi can block illegal websites or accounts that violate national rules, spam posted under official or legitimate accounts is harder to address without direct platform intervention. For that reason, the ministry is pressing Meta to strengthen moderation systems, improve bot detection and accelerate the filtering of gambling-related spam.

Meta has said online gambling is a cross-border problem that cannot be solved by one company alone. The company is expected to work with Komdigi on stronger AI-based enforcement, human moderation and faster response mechanisms as gambling networks continue to adapt their keywords, hashtags and posting patterns to avoid detection.

Cybersecurity experts see the joint team as an important step because platforms hold key technical data, including information linked to accounts posting spam. However, they also warn that content moderation must be combined with broader enforcement against payment channels, affiliate networks and the financial infrastructure behind illegal operators.

Indonesia is therefore moving from simple website blocking toward a more coordinated model involving platforms, law enforcement, financial regulators and cyber agencies. If the joint team delivers faster takedowns and better intelligence sharing, it could become a model for how Southeast Asian regulators pressure major platforms to take a more active role in online gambling enforcement.