W

hile the government and the House of Representative have failed to comply with the public’s call to revoke the controversial defamation article from the 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law, they have introduced further threats to freedom of expression by including a punishment for people posting texts, pictures, videos and memes deemed to incite fear or cause embarrassment in the law revision.

The crime, referred to as cyberbullying, poses a threat to freedom on the internet, as it is common for people to tell jokes and post memes criticizing public officials implicated in graft cases or political dynasty members ahead of a regional or general election.

The House claims that the passed provision not only aims to “protect children” but also the general public from bullying on the internet.

“The idea to cover cyberbullying in the revision of the ITE Law is based on people’s concerns over the growing threat of cyberbullying,” said on Arief Suditomo , a member of House Commission I overseeing communication and technology.

Since the implementation of the draconian law in 2008, a number of people have been imprisoned for online activities, including homemaker Prita Mulyasari, who was sued by Omni International Hospital for defamation in 2009 after she complained about the hospital’s services on an online mailing list.

According to data from the Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFENET), 200 people have been prosecuted using the draconian law from 2008.

The number of people criminalized has increased in recent years, reaching 62 people in 2015, compared to just two in 2008, the data showed. Ninety percent of the cases were defamation cases.

The revision of the law initially only covered a provision to decrease the punishment for defamation offenses from six to four years in what appears as a compromise to calm members of the public who want the government to abolish the defamation article from the revision process, but after a closed-door hearing on Aug. 30, both the government and the House surprisingly agreed to regulate cyberbullying offenses in the bill.

The House and the government inserted the stipulations of cyberbullying offenses into the prevailing Article 29 of the ITE Law, which regulates punishment of 12 years in prison for people disseminating electronic information or documents that contain threats or frightening messages.

As a compromise, the bill decreases the sentence for such an offense from 12 to four years, and does not require people charged under the article to be detained by law enforcement institutions during the investigation period.

Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) director Supriyadi Eddyono said the cyberbullying stipulation may contravene the defamation article, while the former poses a more dangerous threat to freedom of expression because the government defines cyberbullying ambiguously.

Supriyadi said the cyberbullying stipulation in the bill could be misused used as a political tool to criminally attack opponents during elections .

“The government has yet to reach a consensus on the definition of ‘annoying’ [bullying], so why are they moving to regulate charges for it [on the internet]? This new charge, in addition to the existing defamation one clearly tells us that the revision of the ITE Law poses serious threats to freedom of expression in Indonesia,” Supriyadi said.