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Constitutional Court bans government, company from using ITE law
Human rights activists have said the Electronic Information and Transaction Law is a threat to freedom of speech in the country and that the government has used it to criminalise its critics.
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Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court (MK) Suhartoyo (center) accompanied by constitutional judges (from left to right) Arsul Sani, Daniel Yusmic Pancastaki Foekh, Enny Nurbaningsih, Saldi Isra, Anwar Usman, Arief Hidayat, M. Guntur Hamzah, and Ridwan Mansyur take a group photo in front of the constitutional pillar after attending the commemoration ceremony of the 21st Anniversary of the Constitutional Court at the Constitutional Court Building, Jakarta, on Tuesday, June 13, 2024. Chairman of the Constitutional Court Suhartoyo in his mandate said that the level of public trust and the image of his institution is getting better, especially after deciding the dispute over the results of the 2024 presidential and legislative elections. (ANTARA FOTO/Indrianto Eko Suwarso)
T
he Constitutional Court has approved in part a petition brought by an environment campaigner, it said on Tuesday, opening the way for a legal change to bar the government or a company filing defamation complaints in the event of criticism.
Human rights activists have said the Electronic Information and Transaction Law is a threat to freedom of speech in the country and that the government has used it to criminalise its critics.
Environment activist Daniel Frits Maurits Tangkilisan had petitioned the Constitutional Court to revoke an article in the law regulating defamation.
The court did not revoke the article but banned a "government, company, institution, or groups with specific identities" from filing defamation complaints against an individual, judge Arief Hidayat said.
He said defamation complaints could only be filed by the person who had been defamed and the court's action aimed to ensure legal certainty and prevent "arbitrariness by the law enforcer".
State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said the government respected and would follow the ruling if it affected policy.
He also reiterated the importance of "responsible freedom of speech" such as addressing critics based on data.
