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Govt to table proposed changes to draconian cyberlaw soon
The government is finalizing a draft revision of the controversial Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law that is often used to silence critics, planning to send it to the House of Representatives this week so it can start deliberating it this year.
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he government is finalizing a draft revision of the controversial Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law that is often used to silence critics, and is planning to send it to the House of Representatives this week so it can start deliberating it this year.
The plan to revise the draconian law has been listed as a priority in the 2021 National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) since September, following a push by the government as a result of public outcry. But its deliberation has still not started, pending a submission of proposed changes from the government, according to lawmakers.
Communications and Information Minister Johnny G. Plate told The Jakarta Post on Sunday that the proposed changes to the law were already at the State Secretariat and expected to be finalized at a meeting on Tuesday. He said the government was also expected to prepare a presidential notification for lawmakers to start the deliberation.
Johnny said the government expected the revision to the law would be passed this year, if not next year should policymakers fail to reach consensus before lawmakers go into recess in mid-December.
"If all political processes run smoothly, hopefully it can be deliberated this year. But if there is a delay, then hopefully it will be completed by 2022," he said.
The cyberlaw most notably contains vague provisions on what constitutes defamation on the web, provisions that have long been criticized by activists for curbing freedom of speech and silencing critics.
Johnny said the government opted for a partial revision of the law by introducing stricter definitions to eliminate any vagueness in key articles, including articles on online defamation, hate speech and obscenity.
“We will improve [it] by providing legal certainty as well as guarantees on freedom of expression on the internet and protection of people’s rights,” he said.
Read also: Government plans limited ITE Law amendment. Activists say it’s not enough.
Dave Laksono from Golkar Party, who is a member of House Commission I overseeing communications and information affairs, which will deliberate the draft revision, said lawmakers would be ready to discuss the proposed changes soon after they received the documents from the government.
But he also said there was a possibility that the deliberation would drag out to the next sitting period next year.
He promised transparency and public involvement in the deliberation process.
Problematic provisions
The amendment of ITE Law is a government initiative in response to public pressure on controversial articles -- particularly the defamation charges -- that are overly used to ensnare people merely for expressing their opinions.
One of the latest cases is Stella Monica, who is currently standing trial for defamation over her social media comments last year that complained about her skin deterioration after undergoing treatment at an aesthetic clinic in Surabaya, East Java. The clinic objected to her claim and reported Stella to the police.
Read also: House approves Jokowi's amnesty request for academic jailed under cyberlaw
Another example was Saiful Mahdi, a lecturer from Syiah Kuala University in Banda Aceh who was sentenced to three months in jail for broadcasting his contempt for what he regarded as an unfair civil servant-recruitment process at the state university on a WhatsApp chat group. He was granted a presidential pardon last month and was released from jail. At the time, he had served half of his sentence.
Civil groups Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet), Jaring.id and ITE Law Victims Community (PAKU ITE) have recorded a growing number of cases involving the law, from 97 cases in 2017, to 211 cases in 2018, 437 cases in 2019 and 509 cases in 2020. This year, as of March, the groups recorded at least 108 ITE Law cases.
Draft in the making
In February, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo instructed his administration to revise the ITE Law, which followed with the formation of a team to review the law.
The team, led by Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD and Johnny, found that the country still needed the law to maintain order in cyberspace although they also agreed that it had to be revised to prevent multiple interpretations of articles that could threaten freedom of expression.
The team prepared a draft revision and gathered input from various stakeholders, such as victims of ITE cases, activists, journalists, politicians and academics.
Read also: New guidelines not a substitute for cyber law revision, activists say
SAFEnet executive director Damar Juniarto welcomed the amendment albeit limited to controversial articles, saying that it should offer clearer definitions to prevent criminalization of online speech.
Civil groups, he said, wanted the deliberation process at the House to be transparent and allow them to offer their arguments and input about provisions in the proposed revision.
"Hopefully, the House will not rush into discussing [the draft revision], and will provide an opportunity for all interested parties, either civil groups or victims of ITE, to provide input," Damar said.
