Indonesian netizens are rallying online to defend and support actress Tara Basro, following a concerning statement from the Communications and Information Ministry (Kemkominfo) alluding how she could potentially be entangled with Indonesia’s draconian internet law after she posted a photo promoting body positivity which, somewhat unsurprisingly, officials deemed pornographic.
Yesterday, photos of the 29-year-old actress in her underwear, wearing her tummy rolls and stretch marks with pride, and captioned with a loud message encouraging self-love, went incredibly viral, garnering positive responses across several social media platforms.
Tara had also posted a nude photo — seemingly from the same photoshoot — with her arms covering her breasts and the words “worthy of love” written across the frame. It had over 25 thousand retweets and 59 thousand likes, but the tweet appears to have been taken down as of Wednesday afternoon.
It appears that Tara removed the tweet herself after the photo was labeled “pornographic content” by Kemkominfo, following a statement from the ministry’s spokesman Ferdinandus Setu, who said that the post was perceived as violating an article on pornography laid out in the Information and Electronic Transactions Act (UU ITE), even though her breasts and private parts were covered.
“What is clear is that we saw [her posts] met the elements of Article 27 Paragraph 1 [in UU ITE] regarding violation of decency. It’s interpreted as nudity. The photo that was displayed, as I said earlier, we would have taken down immediately, but thankfully she has done it herself,” Ferdinandus told Tirto.
“The point is we want to state that our activities on social media are protected under the law. We can’t do whatever we want. We don’t want our children to be addicted to pornography.”
Netizens were quick to defend Tara and respond to Kemkominfo’s statement, which has also been criticized by experts.
I don't think "anak-anak will be addicted to porn" by looking at picture of @TaraBasro trying to spread awareness about body positivity, deh.
Konteks itu sangat penting; konteks foto Tara Basro sama sekali bukan pornografi. https://t.co/BKvxuEKbVN
— Uly Siregar (@sheknowshoney) March 4, 2020
I don’t think “children will be addicted to porn” by looking at pictures of @TaraBasro trying to spread awareness about body positivity, deh. Context is very important, the context of Tara Basro’s photos is not pornography at all.
You may have mixed feelings about Tara Basro's recent picture: whether it was genuine to the body positivity movement or another celebrity appropriation of it.
But one thing you shouldn't have mixed feelings about is the Government's swift use of UU ITE on her. That law is shit.
— Boby Andika Ruitang (@bobyandika) March 4, 2020
Tara Basro: posting images of her body to encourage women to be proud of themselves
Kemkominfo: pic.twitter.com/0Eu1yw985F
— oiI (@43jgp) March 4, 2020
Tara Basro diurusin, giliran SMS spam, penipuan dibiarin.
— Putu Reza (@PapersBoy) March 4, 2020
[Kemkominfo] intruding Tara Basro[‘s business], but they don’t bat an eye when it comes to SMS spam, scams.
Pemerintah ini ngurusin corona saja masih kalang kabut, sempet2nya ngurusin Tara Basro.
— Prastowo Yustinus (@prastow) March 5, 2020
This government is still scrambling to handle coronavirus, yet they still have the time to mind Tara Basro.
Digital rights advocacy group SAFEnet (Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network) also issued a statement criticizing Kemenkominfo.
“SAFEnet sees the labeling of pornography on Tara’s posts as an act of ignorance and context-blind of what Tara intended to express. This content did not exist in a vacuum. Its product and understanding are both influenced and confined within context,” the statement reads.
SAFEnet also highlighted how the Indonesian government should be reviewing the problematic article on UU ITE, with an implementation that has been seen as grounded in gender bias that is harmful for women.
Tara has been known for her candidness when it comes to the ridiculous beauty standards that society forces upon women, and this certainly isn’t the first time that the actress has campaigned for self-love, having tweeted about the subject in the past. In an interview with Indonesian feminist media Magdalene published in November of last year, Tara said that spreading the message is one of her responsibilities as somebody with a platform.
Born Andi Mutiara Pertiwi Basro, Tara started her showbiz career by joining the teen beauty pageant Gadis Sampul (Cover Girl) in 2005 and later scoring a supporting role in Catatan (Harian) Si Boy (Boy’s Daily Diary) in 2011, which was a remake of the 1987 popular film. She starred as a hairdresser in A Copy of My Mind by writer-director Joko Anwar in 2015, for which she won the Best Leading Actress award in the 2015 Indonesian Film Festival (FFI 2015).
Tara has starred in several films since then, but today, she’s notably one of film director Joko Anwar’s go-to actors, having starred in HBO Asia series Halfworlds (2015-2016), Satan’s Slaves (2017), as well as Gundala and Perempuan Tanah Jahanam (Women of The Damned Land) last year.
