Building Awareness of Right to Privacy

The government submitted the final draft of the Personal Data Protection Bill to the House of Representatives. The draft bill includes an obligation for companies to adjust data processing for a maximum of two years.

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JAKARTA, KOMPAS - The formation of the Personal Data Protection Law is expected to promote the awareness of individuals of their right to data privacy. At present not all internet users in Indonesia are aware of and care about their rights in relation to their personal data.

On Jan. 24, 2020, the government submitted the final draft of the Personal Data Protection (PDP) Bill to the House of Representatives (DPR). The draft bill includes an obligation for companies to adjust data processing for a maximum of two years.

The head of the Cyber Law Center at the School of Law at the University of Padjadjaran, Sinta Dewi Rosadi, when contacted from Jakarta on Friday, said that the transition period is needed to provide the time for the promotion of the awareness of the rights of internet users to privacy.

The consequence of the implementation of the law is on the need to promote individual awareness of the right to data privacy. "Data privacy is a human right (HAM). Human rights are the highest rights. So, the most important thing is that the people are aware of their rights, "said Sinta.

Many internet users in Indonesia are still not aware of the right to data privacy.

A similar view was shared by Danny Kobrata, a senior associate at the K&K Advocates, a law firm in the creative economy. According to him, individual data owners are still not aware about various forms of violations involving personal data.

The director general of information applications at the Communication and Information Ministry, Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, acknowledged that many internet users in Indonesia are still not aware of the right to data privacy.

Read more : Personal Data Security

Therefore, improving literacy about the right to data privacy is considered crucial. The first priority that should be taught is that individuals should be aware that the internet is like a glass room that anyone can see into and there will always be a digital footprint.

According to “Internet Privacy Index 2020" issued by Privacy International, Norway is a country that offers the highest commitment to the internet privacy of its citizens with a score of 90.1. Australia came in second with a score of 89.1, then Denmark with a score of 87.4, Sweden with a score of 85.2 and Finland with a score of 83.6.

The institute based in London, England, selected the countries with the best internet privacy commitment from 110 countries studied. The data analyzed included press freedom, data privacy laws, democratic statistics, freedom of opinion and expression and cybercriminal regulations. The higher the score, the more the privacy of citizens is protected. Indonesia ranks 56th out of 110 countries with a score of 39.9.

In the world today there are 132 countries that have a PDP law. Some adopted the European Union\'s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

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Respond positively

The deputy director of the Research and Advocacy Institute for Society (Elsam), Wahyudi Djafar, said Indonesia has so far issued 32 laws and regulations that contain elements of personal data protection, but they do not yet meet human rights standards. These regulations are spread among others in the media and telecommunications industry, finance, taxation and trade sectors. With this situation, the formation of the PDP Law has taken a relatively long time to complete.

Microsoft Indonesia director Ajar Edi welcomed the submission of the final draft bill to the DPR. The submission of the bill to the DPR indicates the government is ready to modernize the management of personal data protection. As industry players, Microsoft believes the presence of the law gives strong confidence to the industry.

According to the chairman of the Indonesian E-Commerce Association (idEA) Ignatius Untung, a two-year transition period allows industry players to adjust. At present, digital marketing is becoming more personal and based on personal data.

"At present, digital marketing relies considerably on third parties such as for storage and data processing. If there is a leak of personal data, the mechanism to prove the violations must be prepared by the government from now on," he said.

The protection of cross-country data transfers requires legal equality

There are a number of issues related to the draft of the PDP bill that have been under a spotlight. Such issues, among others, include the absence of an agency for supervising personal data protection, the mechanism for its implementation and the types of sanctions.

Wahyudi said that when violations of personal data are taken to judicial institutions, the legal processing will take a long time and will be ineffective. In 126 countries that already have a similar regulation, such as in the European Union, there is a body especially assigned to supervise personal data protection.

When transnational violations occur, countries that have a supervisory body will demand legal equality. "In Indonesia it will be difficult. The protection of cross-country data transfers requires legal equality,” he said.