Ebem Martono Makes a Mess at GIIAS, Minister of Communication and Information Emphasizes Recording Content Without Permission Violates the Law

Minister of Communication and Digital Meutya Hafid/ANTARA/Livia Kristianti

JAKARTA - Minister of Communication and Information Technology (Menkomdigi) Meutya Hafid said that content creators who record videos without the consent of the parties concerned mean that they violate the Personal Data Protection Law (PDP Law).

This refers to the recent incident that was widely discussed on the social media Threads regarding the behavior of content creator Ebem Martono who recorded inside the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS) 2026 without the consent of the parties concerned using smart glasses.

"Regarding the recording without permission of a woman, we also received a lot of input. In principle, we need to remind this is a violation of the PDP Law first, and second a violation of ethics," said Meutya as reported by ANTARA, Monday, August 3.

In the PDP Law, the face and self-image are included as biometric personal data and it must be protected because the face is a unique data that is attached to a person's physical identity.

Therefore, the recording of faces without permission by content creators against related parties can be a form of violation of regulations in force in Indonesia.

In the case of content creator Ebem Martono, several parties who were recorded had asked for the related content to be deleted but instead received extortion threats from the creator under the pretext of replacing the cost of producing content that was not even approved by the user.

The action of the content creator received a big reaction from netizens who regretted the incident and supported the ustadz to bring this case to the legal track.

The Minister of Communication and Information assessed that even though the content creator claimed that the video was taken in a public space, it still violated the provisions of the PDP Law.

"So no one should record without permission even in the public sphere. This case is more or less the same as the inconvenience that friends have conveyed, for example, who are exercising on highways and then recorded without permission. So we will treat this as the same thing," said Meutya.

In terms of ethical violations, this case according to Meutya has violated the security of women in public spaces. In fact, in the creation of positive content, vulnerable groups such as children and women should be protected.

"In the framework of protecting not only women, but especially women and children. This unauthorized recording activity must be stopped," said Meutya.

To maintain a safe and comfortable digital space for vulnerable groups such as women and children, the Minister of Communication and Information stated that his party through the Directorate General of Digital Space Supervision continued to open a complaint room so that content that makes people restless, violates rules, or is dangerous can be followed up in accordance with applicable regulations.

"At Komdigi we will continue to (Directorate General of) Wasdig (Digital Space Supervision) to then take measured steps to resolve this problem," concluded Meutya.