DuckDuckGo banned in Indonesia

Indonesia has banned the privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo due to concerns that it facilitates access to illegal gambling and pornography. This decision follows numerous complaints from citizens about inappropriate content in the search results and aligns with the country's strict regulations against such activities, particularly in a predominantly Muslim nation where gambling is prohibited. The Indonesian government has previously blocked popular platforms like Reddit and Vimeo for similar reasons and has undertaken significant measures against online gambling, with estimates indicating that about 3 million Indonesians engaged in such activities last year, spending approximately $20 billion. Unlike DuckDuckGo, other search engines like Google remain accessible, possibly due to their ability to self-censor. DuckDuckGo has confirmed the ban but stated they have no recourse for unblocking, similar to their status in China. As a response, many Indonesians are turning to VPNs to bypass these restrictions, although the government plans to block free VPN services as well.