The House of Representatives Asks The Government For Intensive Communication With Paypal Et Al Regarding PSE Registration

Chairman of Commission I DPR RI Muetya Hafid. Photo: Runi/Man

JAKARTA - The blocking of a number of Private Electronic System Operators (PSE), by the Ministry of Commuication and Information (Kemenkominfo), such as Paypal and Steam, has drawn public protests. Commission I of the Indonesia House of Representatives (DPR RI) encourages the Government to establish intensive communication with companies that have not yet registered for the PSE.

“I ask the government to intensively establish communication with companies that have not registered for the PSE. Find the best solution, be persuasive and pick up the ball," said Chairman of Commission I of the DPR RI, Meutya Hafid, Tuesday (2/7/2022).

There were at least 7 Private Scope PSE companies that were blocked by Kominfo because they had not registered, namely online games Dota, Counter Strike, Origin, then game distribution platforms Epic and Steam, as well as Yahoo and PayPal payment platforms. However, because there were many protests, Kominfo normalized Paypay and Steam with a note.

Many residents protested the blocking of a number of PSEs, especially from creative workers and freelancers who use Paypay as a payment system for their work. Meutya understands that there are protests from the public considering that the rules regarding PSE are still new and need adjustments.

"It's okay at the beginning because we consider this a new rule and socialization has not been maximally carried out," he said.

Therefore, Meutya encourages the Government to make more optimal efforts in persuading PSE companies to immediately register. That way, the Indonesian people will not be affected by this rule adjustment.

“The regulation regarding PSE was made as an effort to protect domestic internet users. So there must be a win-win solution that does not harm the Indonesian people, no matter how small it is," explained Meutya.

As is known, the Government has required PSE in several categories to register with Kominfo). This is a mandate from Presidential Decree (PP) No. 71/2019 concerning Electronic System and Transaction Operators, as well as Minister of Communication and Informatics No. 5/2020 concerning Private Scope Electronic System Operators (PSE).

The House of Representatives Commission I in charge of Communications and Information Technology reminded digital companies operating in the country to respect Indonesian Government regulations. Meutya emphasized that this rule was made to ensure a comfortable digital climate for Indonesian people as internet service users.

"In providing services to consumers, PSE must comply with applicable regulations," said the legislator from the North Sumatra I electoral district.

Meutya added that various countries also apply similar rules to protect their citizens. He gave an example, there are at least 7 countries that apply strict rules for Google to Meta even though it is not only related to platform registration, namely America, Britain, European Union, China, Australia, India and South Korea.

“Internet users should also be aware that the Government is working hard to protect internet users through PSE regulations. These rules will be the legal basis if there is a problem,” said Meutya.

Through the implementation of this PSE rule, it is hoped that there will be no more cases of digital crimes such as the collection and leakage of personal data or related to financial transactions. Meutya assessed that PSE is a strategic step for the Government in mitigating problems in the digital field.

"Socialization also needs to be increasingly massive for digital platform users to be prepared for sanctions that may be imposed by the government on companies that do not comply with PSE rules," he said.

"Don't let internet users be harmed by the companies' disobedience to the rules implemented by the Indonesian government," concluded Meutya.