BIGO LIVE and Indonesia communications ministry team up

Singapore-based live-streaming social app BIGO LIVE has outlined long term development plans in Indonesia. This follows a recent visit made by Indonesia Kominfo, Ministry of Communications, which was led by senior delegates to visit BIGO LIVE to establish its internet model for local internet business.The ministry has also expressed intentions to establish BIGO “as the role model” in the live-streaming industry and also as an internet business company. As such, it has officially instructed BIGO to work with the ministry’s public relations department, to roll out its government campaign for cyber security and live-streaming.The move follows the establishment of BIGO office in Indonesia last year, along with a functional local network monitoring and surveillance team that incorporates artificial recognition technology to monitor round-the-clock 24 hour live-streaming content. Currently, BIGO is the only authorised live-streaming partner working with the Indonesian Ministry of Communications, following a partnership whichv was also forged last year.During the recent visit, BIGO aimed to gain a deeper understanding of local regulations and culture for better cooperation with the local authorities, according to a press statement. The visit also represents the Indonesian government’s emphasis on developing new industries and creating an open and safe environment for Internet companies in Indonesia.According to BIGO, this will help provide good support to Singapore companies such as itself to expand into Indonesia. It is also currently the only Singapore-based live-streaming partner proactive with assisting the Indonesia government in implementing live-streaming regulatory measures. In addition to Huawei, the visit to BIGO is the only Indonesian delegation to accept business invitation to visit abroad.“We have seen BIGO's efforts in Indonesia, and BIGO has been a good role model in Indonesia live-streaming industry and we hope to further standardize the live-streaming industry practice and regulations in Indonesia with the proactive help and assistance from BIGO,” Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, director of general informatics applications of Indonesia, said.Earlier this year, the live-streaming app was flagged in Malaysia follow misuse by its users. This resulted in the urging of the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to look into the matter and potentially get it banned; this was according to a report on Bernama.In a statement to Marketing, a BIGO spokesperson clarified that BIGO LIVE has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual content involving minors and children. The spokesperson also disputed the report, adding that there were some factual discrepancies.