Hotman Paris Meets Mahfud MD, Asking The Defamation Article Of ITE Law To Become Civil Law

Lawyer Hotman Paris Hutapea. (Photo: Instagram @hotmanparisofficial)

JAKARTA - Attorney Hotman Paris met with the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs (Menkopolhukam), Mahfud MD, at Kopi Johny, Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta.

During the meeting, Hotman suggested to the government to change the substance of the defamation article in Law Number 19 of 2016 concerning Electronic Information and Transactions (UU ITE), namely Article 27 paragraph (3).

To Mahfud, Hotman said that in the law in the United Kingdom, the article on defamation is civil law, not criminal like in Indonesia.

"I have given him (Mahfud) the Act in England. In fact, defamation is purely civil," said Hotman in the North Jakarta area, Saturday, March 20.

This is also stated in the official application letter written by Hotman. This letter was sent to President Joko Widodo, Mahfud MD, and Commission III of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia (DPR RI).

Responding to this, Mahfud admitted that the article on defamation often caused many victims. Many consider it a catchall article and become an arena for mutual reporting.

Therefore, Mahfud said the government would revise the ITE Law. This is a long-term solution. Meanwhile, in the near future, the government is still conducting a study by asking for input from a number of parties.

"Now we are preparing a team to study the substance of the rules. If it needs to be deleted, it is being considered or sorted. If there is a complaint like this, it will be regulated later," said Mahfud.