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.

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 req...