Indonesia bans songs by Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars and others for pornographic content

Songs by Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, Zayn Malik, and others have been banned in Indonesia’s most populous province, West Java.

As being reported, the broadcasting commission in Indonesia has placed a ban on a number of English songs that authorities say contain adult and offensive content. A total of 85 songs are put on the ban list, 17 of which are western pop songs.

According to the news source, the commission head Dedeh Fardiah said that some of the lyrics could be interpreted as “objectifying women as sexual objects”.

Rahmat Arifin, the deputy head, told the news source that “What is banned is not the songs, but the lyrics of the songs that contain pornography, pornographic association, and obscenity,”

The airing of popular tunes, which include Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You”, Bruno Mars’ “Versace on the Floor” and Ariana Grande’s “Love Me Harder”, will not be allowed during daylight hours, and can only be broadcast between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m.

Other songs in the list include ‘Wild Thoughts’ by Rihanna, ‘Mr. Brightside’ by The Killers, Zayn Malik’s ‘Dusk Till Dawn’, and Camilla Cabello’s ‘Bad Things’ and ‘Sangria Wine’.

Reacting to the ban, in a series of tweets, Bruno Mars mocked Ed Sheeran that due to his ‘perverted lyrics’ his songs also got banned.

This is not the first time that Indonesia has restricted some of the foreign content in the country. In 2016, officials banned Tumblr after saying the site distributed pornographic content.

In 2014, the release of Noah, a Hollywood film starring Russell Crowe, was blocked in the country on the basis that it contradicted the teachings of the Quran.