Nezar Patria Reveals the Urgency of Digital Ethics in Responding to Legal Cases on Social Media

JAKARTA - Deputy Minister of Communication and Digital (Wamenkomdigi) Nezar Patria revealed the urgency of understanding digital ethics, especially the younger generation, so that they can respond appropriately to the findings of legal cases shared through digital platforms including social media.

Critical thinking ability in responding to an issue and strengthening digital ethics is important so that the younger generation, known as digital natives, will be able to respond to various information objectively and not just cling to one source.

"The most important thing to introduce to them is how to think critically and then also introduce digital ethics because ethics is not only alive in the physical space, but also must be reflected when interacting in the digital space," said Nezar in a written statement received in Jakarta, Thursday.

This was conveyed by Nezar in response to the phenomenon regarding the application of sentiment-based laws on social media that carries no viral no justice.

According to him, in responding to a legal case that is crowded in the digital space, even though there is public opinion pressure, the case should be judged and handled objectively based on facts and fair processes.

"The law should not be moved by sentiment, the law cannot be moved by anger, the law cannot be decided based on like or dislike," said Nezar.

Nezar conveyed this at the National Seminar entitled "No Viral No Justice: Paradigm Change in Legal Justice in the Digital Era" in Central Jakarta, Wednesday (24/6).

He argues that the phenomenon of law enforcement based on sentiments on social media has actually occurred around the world for almost a decade due to the presence of digital public spaces which cause public communication to become more intense.

"This phenomenon has been happening for almost 10 years. How are cases exposed by social media getting extraordinary attention from law enforcement officers. Actually, it's not a typical Indonesian phenomenon, but globally," he said.

He reminded that the algorithms used in digital platforms do not verify facts so that the digital space is vulnerable to hoaxes, disinformation, misinformation, and the formation of perceptions that do not always correspond to reality.

"The algorithm does not check and recheck. Disinformation, misinformation, rumors, and information deception can appear in public cases," said Nezar.

Therefore, in facing these challenges, the government continues to strengthen digital literacy in the younger generation and presents adaptive regulations.

This effort is carried out so that the public is able to use digital spaces responsibly and at the same time be protected from various forms of misleading information.

Of course, for digital literacy, currently the program is no longer focused on supporting people to use digital devices but also understanding the importance of digital security, digital culture, and digital ethics.

"The government is trying a number of approaches. There is digital literacy, there is also adaptive regulation, we have the ITE Law so that we can use this legal instrument to provide space for those seeking justice," said Nezar.