The Bill for the Protection of Personal Data in Indonesia has been adopted by the House of Representatives and the Government (PDP). The House will send it to the President for ratification and publication in the State Gazette.
The Minister of Communication and Information, Johnny G. Plate, declared on behalf of the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, that Indonesia is the fifth country in ASEAN to have a comprehensive legal framework for personal data protection.
Minister Johnny underlined that the establishment of the PDP Law will ensure citizens’ rights in accordance with the mandate of the Republic of Indonesia’s 1945 Constitution.
Ratification of the PDP Bill is practical evidence of the Constitution’s mandate being realised. The PDP Bill will increase the government’s role and authority in enforcing and regulating the compliance and obligations of all parties who process personal data, both public and private.
According to Minister Johnny, the PDP Law is a form of the state’s presence in preserving citizens’ fundamental rights in the digital sphere from a state and government perspective. He underlined that the PDP Law would provide a more comprehensive, robust, and forward-thinking legislative framework for Personal Data Protection.
He emphasised that, in the perspective of the law, the PDP Bill also ensures equality and balances the rights of personal data subjects with the responsibility of the Personal Data Controller.
The Minister claimed that ratifying the PDP Law would increase the trust and acknowledgement of Indonesia’s leadership in global data governance. According to him, Indonesia would become the sixth ASEAN country to have a complete Personal Data Protection law framework.
This is consistent with Indonesia’s efforts in the G20, where the G20 Digital Economy Working Group launched the adoption of three principles in data-free flow with trust and cross-border data flows, including lawfulness, fairness, and transparency.
Minister Johnny praised members of the Indonesian House of Representatives for their efforts in ratifying the PDP Law. The judgement on the PDP Bill is significant and has been anxiously anticipated by many parties. State institutions, law enforcement, the commercial sector, the digital ecosystem, platforms, social media, and the Indonesian people all play a role.
The PDP Law will consist of more than 70 articles organised into more or less 15 chapters. These articles and chapters will discuss in-depth data ownership rights and data usage limitations, as well as the acquisition, storage, processing, and transfer of personal data of Indonesian users.
Because Indonesia is an integral part of the global economy and attracts millions of tourists each year, businesses must immediately adjust their operations to comply with the PDP law.
The bill applies to companies within and beyond the territory of Indonesia whose actions: have legal implications within the territory of Indonesia; affect Indonesian citizens both within and outside the territory of Indonesia.
In addition, the PDP law will have repercussions for local businesses in the nation as well as global corporations that do business with Indonesian consumers. It will also apply to all registered companies conducting business with Indonesian citizens, regardless of where they are registered.
Thus, whether a business is public or private, domestic, or foreign, the PDP Law will automatically apply if it handles the personal information of Indonesian residents.
The new PDP Law is anticipated to apply to all industries, introducing extensive requirements on electronic and non-electronic personal data protection.
