TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Indonesian Cybermedia Institute (AMSI) Chairman Wahyu Diatmika said that artificial intelligence (AI) companies are acquiring content from mass media for free. According to research conducted by AMSI in collaboration with Monash University, approximately 20% of mass media sites are visited by AI crawlers.
“By using AI crawlers, AI companies can obtain journalistic content for free,” he said at the 2026 National Mass Media Conference held ahead of the National Press Day in Banten on Sunday, February 8, 2026.
Wahyu said cyber media companies have experienced a decline in reader traffic over the past year. As observed by 500 AMSI members, traffic to news sites has decreased by 30-50%.
AMSI worked with Monash University to explore the relationship between AI technology and this data. The result is a decrease due to the spread of AI. “The proliferation of AI is impacting media. Advertising is also decreasing. Publishers are experiencing this every day,” he said.
According to the survey, Mr. Wahyu assessed the current state of the media industry as unfavorable. He urged publishers to work together to develop policy documents on AI.
Wahyu also suggested that publishers treat journalistic content and data as assets. Publishers can use robots.txt applications to prevent content from being retrieved by AI. If an AI company wants to acquire content, it must first obtain permission. “There has to be an agreement. If there is no agreement, no permission should be given,” he said.
At the same time, publishers need to establish a digital infrastructure that allows for fair negotiations with AI.
Meutiya Hafid, Minister of Communications and Digital, said the government is preparing Presidential Regulations (Perpres) to regulate the use of AI. One of the regulations is that all works created with AI must use AI markers or labels. “Works that actually use AI will be labeled as AI,” she said in the same place.
She said the Perpres draft on AI was completed in October 2025. The draft has been submitted to the Ministry of Justice. “It is hoped that it will be signed soon,” she said.
Additionally, this presidential regulation will be used by ministries and agencies to issue ministerial regulations related to AI.
Mr. Meutya emphasized the importance of strengthening initiatives other than AI. In the world of journalism, he recommended that editorial boards not rely entirely on AI. The editorial office needs to take a stance on the extent to which it will allow the use of AI.
The National Mass Media Conference, themed “Press, AI and Digital Transformation: Building an Information Ecosystem for the Public Interest,” is part of a series of activities to commemorate National Press Day 2026. The event was attended by Komaruddin Hidayat, Chairman of the Press Council, and Nezar Patria, Deputy Minister for Communications and Digital Affairs, Director of Ideology, Nationalism, Politics and Democracy at the Ministry of National Development. Planning/Mr. Bapenas Nzura Angrain, Chairman of the Digital and Sustainability Committee, Mr. Press Council Mr. Dahlan Dahi, Chairman of the Digital Platforms Corporate Responsibility Committee Suprapt Sastro Atmojo.
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