The Minister Of Trade Ensures That Indonesia-US Data Transfers Through A Safe Legal Mechanism

JAKARTA - Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs Meutya Hafid emphasized that the cross-border data transfer clause in trade agreements between the United States and Indonesia will be carried out in accordance with applicable regulations in Indonesia.

"The government through the Ministry of Communication and Digital emphasized that the finalization of the trade agreement between Indonesia and the United States which was announced on July 22, 2025 by the White House was not a form of free submission of personal data, but a legal basis that was legal, safe, and measurable in traffic governance of cross-border personal data," Meutya said in an official statement on Thursday, July 24.

Meutya stated that the agreement in question could actually be a legal basis for protecting Indonesian citizens' personal data when using digital services provided by US-based companies, such as search engines, social media, cloud services, and e-commerce.

According to him, transfer of cross-border personal data is allowed for legal, limited, and can be legally justified. Data transfer between countries will also be carried out under the strict supervision of Indonesian authorities, with the principle of prudence and based on national legal provisions.

The legal basis refers to Law Number 27 of 2022 concerning the Protection of Personal Data and previously Government Regulation Number 71 of 2019 concerning the Implementation of Electronic Systems and Transactions.

"Concrete examples of legitimate data transfer activities include: the use of search engines such as Google and Bing, data storage through cloud computing services, digital communication through social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram, transaction processing through e-commerce platforms, as well as research and digital innovation needs," he explained.

The government is also committed to ensuring that data transfers to the US are not carried out carelessly. On the other hand, the entire process is carried out in the framework of secure and reliable governance data, without sacrificing the rights of citizens.

According to Meutya, the practice of cross-border data transfer is also common for several other countries, especially in the context of digital data governance.

"G7 member countries such as the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom have long adopted a safe and reliable cross-border data transfer mechanism," he said.