Listyo Assesses Cyber Space To Ensure Freedom Of Association During The COVID-19 Pandemic

Candidate for National Police Chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo during the fit and proper test at the DPR (Photo: Capture the live broadcast screen broadcast on YouTube by the DPR RI)

JAKARTA - Candidate for the Chief of Police, Komjen Listyo Sigit Prabowo, will prepare a pattern of expressing opinions in public by maintaining health protocols. One of his proposals is to use cyber space to ensure the expression of opinions of Indonesian citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The right to freedom of assembly during this pandemic has become constrained by itself. In the future we prepare, we will coordinate with relevant stakeholders to give opinions in public but by maintaining health protocols," Listyo said in a fit and proper test at Commission III of the Indonesian Parliament, Wednesday, January 20.

With this coordination, Listyo hopes that the law can be implemented but the health protocol is not violated on the grounds of protecting the people's safety. Because, he continued, the number of people without symptoms is increasing and it is at risk of transmitting COVID-19 to others.

"We will discuss specifically whether freedom of opinion uses cyber space, but we must be able to distinguish ethics and norms that cannot be violated," said Listyo.

"We are all trying to learn to understand the existing rules," he said.

As previously reported, Listyo did explain a number of reforms in the police sector in the fit and proper test as the sole candidate for Chief of Police. One of the things he touched on was about Virtual Police, which is different from Cyber Police.

Cyber police are known for enforcing the law when violations or crimes are found in cyberspace. Meanwhile, the virtual police will focus on matters of an educational nature for citizens or society in general.

"With virtual police, it is more aimed at educational matters, learning to engage the community, involving influencers who have quite a number of followers," he said.

Later, the work of the virtual police or the parties involved is to educate the public on how to use good social media, cultured and far from criminal acts or crimes.