The protracted completion of the Personal Data Protection Bill has the potential to increase threats to the sovereignty of the data of the citizens or the state.
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RINI KUSTIASIH/NIKOLAUS HARBOWO/DIAN DEWI PURNAMASARI
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Kompas/Wawan H Prabowo
Minister of Communication and Informatics Johnny G Plate (center) in a meeting with Commission I of the DPR at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Tuesday (25/2/2020). The meeting discussed the Draft Law on Personal Data Protection.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — After the Priority National Legislation Program (Prolegnas Prioritas) 2021 was passed at the Plenary Meeting of the House of Representatives (DPR), Tuesday (23/3/2021), the government and DPR could accelerate the discussion of the Personal Data Protection Bill. The protracted completion of this bill has the potential to increase threats to the sovereignty of the data of the citizens or the state.
The Prolegnas Prioritas 2021, which includes the Personal Data Protection Bill, was finally ratified at the DPR Plenary Meeting after its approval had been delayed since the beginning of the year. The delay in the ratification of the Prolegnas Prioritas 2021 has hampered the discussion of the Personal Data Protection Bill in two DPR sessions or since the beginning of this year.
The executive director of the Institute for Community Studies and Advocacy, Wahyudi Djafar, said that after the Prolegnas problem was resolved, the DPR and the government should accelerate the discussion of the Personal Data Protection Bill. Various differences of opinion regarding a number of materials in the bill urgently need to find common ground. The reason is the fact that the longer the deliberation of the bill, the misuse of data and threats to the sovereignty of the citizen or state data will be at greater risk.
"The impact of not immediately ratifying the Personal Data Protection Bill is enormous because without a legal umbrella, the exploitation of citizen data will be more likely to occur. Moreover, in the aspect of developing the digital economy, it is also very unprofitable. Data storage and transfer have become normal business practices and therefore there must be strong regulations governing this matter," said Wahyudi.
Legal and information technology experts and academics (from left to right) Agus Sudibyo, Edmon Makarim, Sinta Dewi Rosadi, Nonot Harsono, and Sih Yuliana Wahyuningtyas were speakers at the General Hearing Meeting (RDPU) with Commission I of the Indonesian Parliament to discuss the Bill -The Law on Protection of Personal Data (RUU PDP) at the Parliament Complex in Senayan, Jakarta, Wednesday (1/7/2020).
Legal vacuum
A spokesman for the National Cyber and Encryption Agency (BSSN), Anton Setiawan, said there was still a legal vacuum regarding the protection of personal data.
In the Electronic Information and Transactions Law, or Government Regulation on the Implementation of Electronic System and Transactions, matters that are regulated are still limited to attacks from outside parties. With regard to the Personal Data Protection Bill, misuse by data managers is also regulated.
When Facebook, YouTube and Google want to transfer users\' personal data for commercial purposes, for example, this must be followed by customer consent. If not, it is illegal.
The chairman of the DPR Personal Data Protection Bill Working Committee, Abdul Kharis Almasyhari, aims for the Personal Data Protection Bill to be completed this year. He promised to immediately find a common ground on disagreements regarding a number of materials in the bill, such as the position of the data supervisory authority.
Communication and Information Minister Johnny G. Plate previously said the government was serious about being able to immediately finalize the Personal Data Protection Bill. "Regarding the substance of each article, we just have to wait for the dynamics in the DPR. The government agrees that Indonesia must immediately have regulations that protect personal data," he said.
