Protect our Personal Data

Kompas

Copies of e-KTPs of some residents of Batu Selicin Village, Batam were announced at the market, Tuesday (19/2/2013). Anyone can access the publicly announced e-KTP owner\'s personal data. As a result, there is potential for misuse of personal data.

Everybody has personal rights, and our rights cannot be violated by anyone, even the government.

Article 28H Point (4) of the 1945 Constitution (UUD 1945) ensures the personal rights of every Indo-nesian citizen, and no one can arbitrarily take away those rights without consent. Personal rights have broad definitions, which can be interpreted not only as rights over property, but also rights over personal data. It should be recognized that there is still little protection for our personal data.

As reported in the news or heard in daily conversation, many people complain that they still receive advertisements through phone calls, digital messages and emails offering goods and services – in many cases inappropriately. How are outsiders able to access our personal data? We never engage or have contact with them. Our personal data is scattered in the public, and there is always a possi-bility that someone might use it for criminal activity. Our personal data is traded (Kompas, pp. 13, May 15, 2019). Unprotected!

In contrast, our neighbour Singapore has had its Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) since 2012. The European Union has protected the personal data of European citizens since 1995 through various laws and regulations, which culminated in the passing of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by the European Parliament in 2016.

In 2020, there are 30 billion devices and software systems all over the world connected through the IOT.

Agus Sudibyo, a member of the Press Council, through his book titled “Jagat Digital: Pembebasan dan Penguasaan” wrote that our personal data being connected through the internet is predicted to become a global issue, following the introduction of the internet of things (IOT) in 1999. In 2020, there are 30 billion devices and software systems all over the world connected through the IOT. Any-one can download and abuse our personal data. In 2018, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg gave an apology for the breach of millions of Facebook users’ personal data. He even faced an investigation from the United States Senate.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

Officers record the identities of motorcyclists who take the free Covid-19 rapid test held by the Attorney General\'s Office on Jalan Panglima Polim, Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, Thursday (6/8/2020).

Our government has become more aware of the importance of protecting citizens’ personal data, particularly after the Home Ministry successfully turned 98 percent of civil registration into a digital database. The government and the House of Representatives have started the legislation process of the personal data protection bill and put it into our inalienable rights, as stipulated in the constitu-tion.

The government and the House’s effort to protect our citizens’ personal data should be appreciated, considering the constitution mandates such protection. There should be no more abuse of our per-sonal data, by any individuals, corporations and even the government. No matter how little the use of personal data is, as stipulated in the constitution, it should receive consent from the owner. The law should be enforced on the abuse of personal data. Data in the current digital era is a diamond that should be used to improve the welfare of our nation