The ITE Law Is The Culprit, The Minister Of Communication And Information Prepares Guidelines For Its Interpretation

Menkominfo Johnny G Plate (doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The government is blowing a discourse to revise the Law on Electronic Information and Transactions (UU ITE). Moreover, the ITE Law is often used as a tool to criminalize someone on social media.

Responding to the polemic, the Minister of Communication and Information (Menkominfo) Johnny G Plate explained that the ITE Law is basically to keep Indonesia's digital space cleaner, healthier, ethical, and can be used productively. For this reason, the government is guided by the implementation of the ITE Law should not cause a sense of injustice.

"For this reason, Kominfo jointly supports the Supreme Court, the Police, the Attorney General's Office in making official guidelines for interpreting articles of the ITE Law which are considered controversial in order to be clearer and to avoid various interpretations," said Johnny in a statement from the Ministry of Communication and Information, Wednesday, February 17.

Johnny realizes that there are several articles in the ITE Law which are considered rubber articles. He said that these articles had already undergone judicial review at the Constitutional Court. In fact, according to him, the result of the judicial review process stated that the provisions in the ITE Law were constitutional.

"It should be noted that Article 27 paragraph (3) and Article 28 paragraph (2) of the ITE Law, which are often regarded as 'rubber articles', have been submitted for judicial review several times to the Constitutional Court (MK) and have always been declared constitutional," said Johnny.

The ITE Law itself has also undergone a revision in 2016 by referring to several decisions by the Constitutional Court.

"The efforts above continue to be carried out and optimized by the government. However, if on the way it still cannot provide a sense of justice, then the possibility of revision of the ITE Law is also open, we support it according to the President's direction," he concluded.