Minister of Communication and Information Tegaskan ART Transfer Data Indonesia-AS Masih Tunduk UU PDP

Minister of Communication and Information Meutya Hafid (photo: Dinda Buana/VOI)

JAKARTA - Communication and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid emphasized that the practice of data transfer in accordance with the ART between the Indonesian government and the United States will be carried out in accordance with the Personal Data Protection Law (PDP Law).

According to him, the Agreement on Reciprocal Tariff (ART) signed by President Prabowo Subianto and US President Donald Trump will actually strengthen the practice of data exchange that has been going on for a long time.

He said that the sovereignty of data for Indonesian citizens remained the government's top priority and ensured that the implementation of ART would not override existing domestic regulations.

"The important thing is that the Personal Data Protection Law remains in force. So, we will continue to protect the data of our citizens. What is reinforced by this ART is the practice that has already occurred today," said Meutya after the launch of the Sahabat-AI application on Wednesday, February 25 in Jakarta.

Meutya also mentioned that the points in the ART regarding cross-border data exchange are actually not entirely new for the Indonesian digital ecosystem.

Because until now, the Indonesian people have actively used various digital platforms from the United States, ranging from cloud services, social media, to streaming entertainment.

"That there is indeed data development, we use many platforms from abroad, including the United States. So, what is written in the ART actually strengthens or provides a legal framework for practices that have indeed been going on for quite some time," he said.

The Agreement on Reciprocal Tariffs (ART) or Reciprocal Trade Agreement signed on February 20 contains technically important points, such as Indonesia not applying a digital services tax to US firms and also transferring personal data from Indonesia to the United States related to digital trade and technology.

Until now, the details of the agreement regarding the exchange of personal data between Indonesia and the United States still reap a lot of pros and cons from the people of the country.