Indonesia threatens prison time for unauthorized downloads of forest data

Indonesia's Ministry of Forestry has quietly placed its once-open SIGAP mapping platform behind a login wall, warning visitors that downloading geospatial data without written permission can bring up to nine years in prison and a fine of roughly $170,000 under the 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions Law. A ministry official said the restriction targets manipulation and illegal resale of forestry data, citing one case of data appearing for sale online.

Researchers and NGOs, including Human Rights Watch and the conservation group HAkA, say the new application process will slow or block the monitoring of illegal logging, mining encroachment and Indigenous land disputes in one of the world's most biodiverse countries. The ministry insists it only restricts raw shapefile downloads, not PDF access, and that universities can still apply, though NGOs cannot get shapefiles directly.

Two Indonesian legal scholars told Mongabay the move appears to conflict with the 2008 Public Information Disclosure Act and a constitutional right to seek and convey information, and that the cited law doesn't actually criminalize honest use of public data. The ministry has not explained why a permit system aimed at stopping fraud excludes the civil-society groups most likely to catch it.

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