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Activists demand swift passage of data protection bill
The personal data protection bill is entering a critical stage of its deliberation at the House of Representatives, cyber experts say.
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The logo of the National Cyber and Encryption Agency (BSSN) is seen on the agency’s office in Jakarta on March 15, 2019. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
W
ith the House of Representatives resuming deliberations on a much-awaited personal data protection bill, cybersecurity activists have renewed their call for the speedy passage of the bill amid continued cyberthreats.
The bill has been in the works since 2014 and was pushed forward by the government in hopes of providing some guidelines for the use of personal data, without much incentive apart from riding the wave of Indonesia’s digital economy boom. The legislation then grew in importance following a surge in personal data leaks in recent years.
The bill was initially included in the 2015-2019 priority legislation shortlist but was only deliberated in earnest beginning in 2019. It is one of 33 priority legislation in the 2021 House national legislative program (Prolegnas).
One of the biggest sticking points of the current draft bill has to do with a provision governing the establishment of a data protection agency. The Communications and Information Ministry wants the agency to come under its authority, while lawmakers insist the agency must be independent and report directly to the president.
Read also: State intelligence hacked in alleged breach of government networks
Meanwhile, illegal data breaches have continued to occur, often to the detriment of ordinary citizens who are left in the dark on what to do when their personal data is stolen, said Teguh Aprianto, a cybersecurity consultant.
The researcher cited the massive data breach earlier in May that saw the personal data of more than 279 million Indonesians put up for sale on an online hacking forum. The leaked data reportedly belonged to national health insurance (JKN) policyholders managed by the Health Care and Society Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan).
