Director General of Applications and Informatics at the ministry, Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, said that the harmonization of the two laws is aimed at preventing confusion regarding their regulations, which often overlap.
"The Criminal Code Law will take effect from January 1, 2026, and we will align the new version of the ITE Law with it so that there will be a continuity and can provide protection," he informed in the press room of his ministry in Jakarta on Thursday.
Further, the bill amending the current ITE Law will bring improvements by outlining clearer limits and exceptions related to the use of the articles in the law, he said.
He gave an example related to the dissemination of obscene content. The second bill to amend the ITE Law will make an exception for victims who share obscene content as a form of self-defense.
Pangerapan provided the example in reference to the case of Baiq Nuril, who, in 2012, was sentenced even though she used a digital voice recording as evidence to defend herself.
The bill also protects people's rights to associate and express opinions from being criminalized by the regulation.
Pangerapan expressed the hope that with the changes brought through the second amendment bill to the ITE Law, incidences of criminalization would be eliminated and victims would get true legal justice.
"We include exceptions so that the articles in the law are not abused," he said.
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Translator: Livia K, Kenzu
Editor: Arie Novarina
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