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Government plans limited ITE Law amendment. Activists say it’s not enough.
Among provisions revised in the limited amendment of the Electronic Information and Transaction Law are ones on hate speech and defamation, which are commonly used to prosecute critics in the online realm.
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Members of the Corruption Eradication People’s Committee rally outside the State Palace on Jan. 8, 2019, to demand that the government abolish articles in the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law they deem to be a threat to the freedom of expression. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
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he government has proposed a limited amendment to the controversial Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE Law) in its bid to eliminate several vague provisions in the cyberlaw, which are blamed for restricting online speech and silencing critics.
The proposal came as a result of a three-month government-led study to determine whether the controversial articles in the law, which have often been used to criminalize online speech, need to be amended. Among the controversial provisions is online defamation, frequently used by individuals to report their critics on social media and other online platforms.
Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD said the government opted for a partial revision of the law by introducing stricter definitions to eliminate vagueness in key articles.
“[The] limited amendment of the ITE Law [will] relate to six issues, namely hate speech [...], hoaxes, online gambling, violations of decency, slander and defamation,” Mahfud said during a streamed press briefing in Jakarta on June 9.
“We’re not expanding the law, but rather revising it to remove vague provisions that are deemed discriminative or [incurring] criminalization,” the minister went on to say.
Read also: ITE Law won't be revised but guidelines will be issued on its use: Minister
The study commenced following President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s call in February for the National Police to be more “selective” in handling online defamation cases. He also called for the amendment of problematic articles within the ITE Law.
