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View all search resultsGovernment does about-face on onshore data storage plan
The government has canceled its plan to force private sector actors to store data onshore so as to ensure a favorable business climate for the burgeoning digital economy but is still looking at measures to ensure Indonesians’ data is secure
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Digital storage: Inside a data center of local provider PT Graha Teknologi Nusantara (GTN) in Cikarang, West Java, in this photo illustration. (JP/Radhitya Diva Putra)
T
he government has canceled its plan to force private sector actors to store data onshore so as to ensure a favorable business climate for the burgeoning digital economy but is still looking at measures to ensure Indonesians’ data is secure.
Only public institutions will be required to store data onshore, while private firms like Google and Facebook can store their data overseas with an obligation to register their business with the Communications and Information Ministry, according to a ministry document seen by The Jakarta Post.
The ministry’s Information Applications Director General Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan said requiring tech companies to store their data in Indonesia was much the same as preventing them from doing business in the country.
“We [the government] cannot oblige them to localize their data, but we can require them to ensure that our [Indonesians’] data is protected and secured,” Semuel told the Post at his office in Jakarta recently. “I come from the private sector. So I know how complicated it will be if the government makes many interventions into businesses.”
Strategic data managed by private sector actors will also be required to be connected to the National Data Center run by the National Cyber and Encryption Agency (BSSN). In the event of a national security breach, companies managing the data will need to grant access to the government.
The stipulations will be part of the latest draft revision of Government Regulation (PP) No. 82/2012 on electronic system and transaction management, which is considered important among businesspeople in the tech sphere. As the digital economy grows, the use of data has spiked but many companies continue to use overseas data centers as local infrastructure is considered insufficient.
The draft revision will also require certain content moderation and right to be forgotten procedures to be adopted by electronic system providers. It is currently under final review by the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister and the Office of the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister prior to being signed by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.
