The latest report from Citizen Lab, a research institute in the digital security field based in Toronto, Canada, reveals how digital technology is increasingly used as a tool of repression in several countries, including Indonesia. In the report, published early this month, Citizen Lab investigated the use of the Circles program to spy and intercept SMS and telephone communication.

Circles technology is mainly used by the buyer's country's intelligence agency. Indonesia is one of the program buyers affiliated with the NSO Group, a company from Israel, although the Citizen Lab report did not specify which institution in Indonesia had bought the program or whether it is a state agency or a private institution. In contrast, for instance, the United Arab Emirates intelligence authorities included proof of purchase of the program, according to the report.

Simply put the, Circles is used by installing a specific system on a communication provider without the need to hack the target's phone that is being attacked. The perpetrator only needs to tap into all target communication that is not encrypted, as in calls or text messages through cellular communication. This could be avoided if the target implements a security protocol that is relatively easy, for example, using two-step authentication (2FA) instead of using short message services (SMS) or phone calls.

Although the practice of wiretapping by intelligence circles is not new, the Citizen Lab report keeps our eyes open on how digital technology has morphed into a tool to oppress the people. The report shows the technology and method used to attack activists and civilians alike to raise public awareness of digital security.

Despite the threats, until now, ICT remains an important part of social movements. In every part of the world, there is no movement without the use of hashtags to mobilize public support and engagement. ICT plays an important part in political changes, as what happened in the Arab Spring a decade ago and in the democratic movement in Thailand today.

In Indonesia, activists and critical groups actively use social media to voice their political statements, including the hashtags #ReformasiDikorupsi (Corrupted Reform) and #CabutOmnibusLaw (Drop the Omnibus Law). Likewise, social media has given a boost to public movements in many regions as in the case of the antireclamation movement in Bali, which has been going on for nearly seven years.

 The need for digital technology has been growing immensely, which is why digital rights should have a place in public discourse. Digital rights include the right to access the internet, the right to express views using digital media and the right to feel secure while using digital media, including the right to privacy.

Rather than protection, violations of the rights have occurred every day in Indonesia. In a report that examines the implementation of digital rights in the country throughout 2019, Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet) found that the Indonesian people have endured digital authoritarianism. If digital rights are like a single chain, these transgressions occurred in all the links.

The first violation is the restriction of internet access. While on one hand, the digital divide is rampant between men and women, urban and rural areas, the rich and poor, at the same time, restrictions on internet access happen to the groups that are considered a threat to national stability. In 2019, for example, internet throttling and a shutdown happened in Jakarta in May and Papua in August-September for two different issues: rejection of the election results and demands for elimination of racism against indigenous Papuans, respectively.

The state-sponsored internet restriction puts Indonesia in the same league as Iran, Myanmar, India and many other countries. Accessnow, a public organization advocating digital rights globally, has noted that during the past year, 213 internet access cuts have lasted 1,706 days in 33 countries, including Indonesia.

When internet access is limited, citizens’ freedom of expression through digital spaces is also increasingly under threat of criminalization. Information and Electronic Transactions Law (ITE) Law No. 11/2008, which was originally intended to protect consumer rights when transacting electronically, has turned into a tool to silence critical voices. Instead of giving protection, the ITE Law ensnares netizens who exercise their right in the digital media.

SAFEnet's monitoring over the past year recorded 25 cases of criminalization by the ITE Law, mostly targeting journalists and the media (eight cases) as well as activists and ordinary citizens (five cases). They were mostly charged under Article 27 (3) on defamation on social media, which can be interpreted in many different ways. The fact is, public officials and politicians filed lawsuits against them for their critical views.

The right to feel safe when doing activities in digital spaces is elusive due to rampant digital attacks, both subtle and rough. Takeovers of digital assets belonging to activists, journalists and students have been rampant, in addition to doxing and trolling.

To disclose the perpetrators of the digital attacks is not easy because the character of these digital attacks is asymmetrical. It cannot be seen only between two parties, say state actors and citizens. On the other hand, in general, the awareness and capability of civil society in the field of digital security are still low. Many deem ICT issues as simply technical, rather than political.

International Human Rights Day should serve as a reminder that in the end, ICT is also about politics. For civil society, ICT is a force it needs to progress, but in the hands of the powerful, it can become an oppression machine.

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The writer is a journalist, blogger and SAFEnet volunteer.