...we are racing against time,
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Communication and Informatics Ministry is working to complete drafting the Personal Data Protection Bill in 2022, since it has been delayed for almost two years, in a bid to strengthen data regulation and management in Indonesia.

“The government and House of Representatives (DPR) working committee are attempting to complete drafting the bill in 2022. Since it is almost DPR’s recess period, we are racing against time," the ministry’s spokesperson, Dedy Permadi, remarked in a webinar on Friday.

Permadi has said that the government and DPR working committee will continue their dialogue and discussions regarding the bill.

The establishment of the regulations on protection of personal data has become more important, since one of the main issues being discussed at the G20 Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG) meetings is the development of reliable cross-border data flow.

The ministry is assigned to encourage the working group to yield an agreement on cross-country data flow governance.

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As the chair of the 2022 G20 presidency, Indonesia has sought to encourage the members of the international forum to adopt four principles of data governance, including those that are lawful, transparent, fair, and reciprocal.

To date, Indonesia has no primary regulation for the protection of personal data. However, the spokesperson has ensured that data protection has been well maintained, in accordance with existing regulations.

Currently, the applicable acts which regulate the protection of personal data include Law Number 19/2016 on the Amendments to Law Number 11/2008 concerning Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE Law).

Furthermore, the Government Regulation Number 71/2019 regarding the Implementation of Electronic Systems and Transactions also focus on the issue.

In addition, the data protection issue is discussed in Ministerial Regulation Number 5/2020 on Private Electronic System Operators.

"Hence, in case data is breached, the ministry can take various actions according to the rules, such as conducting investigations and giving sanctions to electronic system operators who are proven to have violated the regulations," Permadi added.
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Translator: Natisha Andarningtyas, Uyu Lim
Editor: Suharto
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