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[COMMENTARY] Creating a safe cyberspace for everyone
The real question is, how far-reaching do we need to revise the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law? The answer is, astronomically.
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![[COMMENTARY] Creating a safe cyberspace for everyone](https://img.jakpost.net/c/2020/12/10/2020_12_10_108716_1607563559._large.jpg)
Members of the Corruption Eradication People’s Committee rally outside the State Palace on Jan. 8, 2019, to demand that the government abolish articles in the Electronic Information and Transaction (ITE) Law they deem to be a threat to freedom of expression. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
T
o revise or not to revise the cyber law? Alas, that is not the question. The real question is, how far-reaching do we need to revise the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law? The answer is, astronomically.
The information technology landscape has changed vastly since 2016, when we last revised the ITE Law. We have learned now that the internet, particularly social media, is no longer safe as we become increasingly dependent on it in our daily lives. The cyber law, in its current iteration, has become inadequate to protect users against many forms of abuse. And some of the abuse, including widespread disinformation, has led to real-life injury and even deaths.
We welcome the government’s initiative to open a debate on whether to revise the law and which articles need revising. The final decision rests on the House of Representatives, but some political parties are apparently unconvinced that the law needs another review after only five years.
The police are to be commended for coming up with a set of new guidelines on using the ITE Law, following criticism by no less than President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo of their overboard tactics to invoke the legislation in prosecuting government critics.
The handful of arrests of government critics in the past few years has been enough to spook others. A survey by the National Commission on Human Rights published in January found that 36 percent of respondents said they were afraid of criticizing the government on internet and social media platforms. The level of fear is high, even among scholars.
But the police guideline on the ITE Law is a short-term measure. It is not only government critics who need protection. Regular internet users are falling prey to the growing risk of fraud, harassment and threats infiltrating the cyber ecosystem.
Disinformation is spreading at such a scale on social media that users are struggling to filter through the information to find any nugget they can trust. A case in point is the ongoing public confusion over COVID-19, its causes and treatments, and now the national vaccination program.
