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Govt to set up independent body to protect personal data
The independent body is expected to be filled with experts and professionals.
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The government may form an independent privacy commission in relation to a draft personal data protection bill that has been in the works at the Communications and Information Ministry since 2015. (Shutterstock.com/Boiko Y)
T
he government may form an independent privacy commission in relation to a draft personal data protection bill that has been in the works at the Communications and Information Ministry since 2015.
The bill is intended to create consolidated legislation for data protection, as it is currently mentioned in 32 different laws--including the 2016 Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law. Personal data protection is only specifically governed under Communications and Information Ministerial Regulation No. 20/2016, which is deemed inadequate amid the increasing use of personal data by digital companies.
The ministry’s information applications director general, Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, said the independent agency would supervise the application of personal data protection law and would function similarly to the European Union's data protection authorities.
"The commission will be similar to the EU's data protection authorities. However, unlike in the EU, where the authorities are selected by the parliament, we are proposing that the commission be selected by the government and arranged under a government regulation," Semuel said during a discussion on the bill in Jakarta on Tuesday.
As quoted on the European Commission's website, the EU's data protection authorities are tasked to "supervise, through investigative and corrective powers, the application of the data protection law" and "provide expert advice on data protection issues and handle complaints lodged against violations of the General Data Protection Regulation and the relevant national laws."
The EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which has been implemented in all its member countries since May 2018, offers a framework for similar regulations in other countries, including Indonesia. Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore and the Philippines have also formed similar independent commissions following their passing of a data protection law.
"We want the commission to be filled with prominent people who have backgrounds in data protection, such as lawyers and engineers. [...] We don't want it to be filled with politicians but rather professionals. The commission will be independent and the selection process will be transparent," Semuel said.
