Virtual Police Judged To Open Bar Criminalization Room: U

JAKARTA - Virtual Police at the Bhayangkara Corps were officially operational since yesterday, February 24. Now the police are not only patrolling the real world, but also in cyberspace. The reason was that the National Police wanted to prevent criminal acts in the Information and Electronic Transaction Law (UU ITE). However, this is considered counterproductive and has the potential to open up new spaces for criminalization of an act deemed as defamation.

The operation of the Virtual Police was initiated by the Head of the Indonesian Police (Kapolri) General Listyo Sigit Prabowo. The goal is to prevent criminal acts in the ITE Law.

As explained by the Head of Police Public Relations Division, Inspector General Argo Yuwono, police patrols in the digital space are a form of maintaining security and security so that the cyber world can move cleanly, healthily and productively. "Through the Virtual Police, the police provide education and notice that what is written is a crime, please don't rewrite it and erase it," Argo told reporters yesterday, February 24.

This operation is based on the Chief of Police Circular (SE) Number: SE / 2/11/2021 concerning Ethical Cultural Awareness to Create a Clean, Healthy and Productive Indonesian Digital Space. Here's how it works.

Initially, the police will monitor content indicated to contain hoaxes and incitement on various platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. If there is a post that has the potential to violate a crime, Virtual Police will take a screenshot to consult with a team of experts consisting of criminal, language and ITE experts. Therefore, the police said that the warning was based on the opinion of the expert, not the subjective opinion of the police investigator.

If the expert states that this is a criminal offense, either an insult, then it is submitted to the Cyber Director or the official appointed to provide validation. After that, the Virtual Police Alert is sent personally to the account concerned officially.

The warning will be sent via direct message from the account owner who uploaded the content. After the message is received, the police hope that the alleged criminal content will be removed by the account owner.

If within 1x24 hours the upload has not been deleted by the account owner, the investigator will again give a virtual warning. If the second warning remains disobeyed, the account owner will be summoned for clarification. And according to the police, prosecution is the last step to deal with violations of the ITE Law, because the police say they will prioritize a restorative justice approach.

Director of Cyber Crime at the National Police Criminal Investigation Unit, Brigadier General Slamet Uliandi, explained that criminal acts that can be resolved by restorative justice include cases of defamation, slander and insult. In addition, the perpetrator is also not detained because restorative justice promotes justice and balance between the perpetrator and the victim.

Slamet emphasized that the National Police would not take action against someone who criticized the government who delivered criticism in a polite and civilized manner. However, if criticism is delivered by adding hate speech and hoaxes, it will be punished. "Criticism is fine, but hate speech, slander and lies are not good," added Slamet.

For now, there are at least 12 Virtual Police warnings that have been sent directly to social media accounts. They are suspected of spreading false or hoax information.

The Director of LBH Pers, Ade Wahyudin, said that the Virtual Police operation regulated in the Chief of Police's Circular was considered to be contradicting the right to freedom of expression in the digital space. Moreover, the aim of the police itself is to prevent the public from being caught in the ITE Law.

"This is a concern for LBH Press that this Circular Letter is counterproductive and unable to achieve its goals," said Ade in a written statement received by VOI.

Another concern from the implementation of this policy is that it has the potential to open new spaces for criminalization of the interpretation of an act that is considered defamation. Because, "the assessment of an expression that qualifies as a criminal act is very difficult and subjective in the judgment."

"The guidelines in this Circular have not answered the issue of criminalization. And have the potential to open up new spaces for criminalization of the interpretation of an act which is considered defamation," he added.

However, according to Ade, the restorative justice approach that is prioritized by the police should be appreciated by mentioning criminal law as the last resort in enforcing law, especially those who decide to take peaceful steps. But sadly, those guidelines still exclude a few things. "These guidelines exclude cases that are considered to have the potential to divide, racial violence, radicalism and separatism."

In fact, the assessment of the issue of SARA, radicalism and separatism according to Ade is considered very subjective. "This creates a new potential space for potential criminalization that can target anyone. This provision is in conflict with the purpose of this circular which enforces the law by promoting the spirit of restorative justice."

Another problem with the Virtual Police, according to Ade, is that it will make people afraid to convey their expressions in the digital space. Including those who wish to criticize the government.

"It is feared that this situation will become an obstacle for the public to openly convey their criticism to the government. In fact, the protection of opinions and criticism is clearly recognized in the 1945 Constitution Article 28E paragraph (2) and (3)," he wrote.

For this reason, Ade and the ranks of LBH Press suggested that the police should clearly describe the forms of monitoring activities such as virtual police and virtual alerts. "This is so that the police can maintain their accountability in carrying out their functions and duties and prevent all forms of potential arbitrary action," he wrote.