Internet Quota Kita disappears

Photo by Luthfiah VOI

JAKARTA - The impact of the ruling on the future of Internet access in Indonesia. Judicial review of the "internet quota burned" rule was filed with the Constitutional Court (MK) by aring (online motorcycle taxi) related to Article 71 paragraph 2 of the Job Creation Law (Law 6/2023). This article is considered to be detrimental to consumers because it allows operators to burn off the remaining quota without rollover, which potentially harms the community worth Rp. 63 trillion.

The application for Application No. 273/PUU-XXIII/2025 is now entering the preliminary hearing phase. In the lawsuit, Didi and Wahyu assessed that the regulation had given too much room for mobile operators to impose a time-limited internet quota system, thus harming consumers.

According to the Founding Secretary General of Indonesian Audit Watch (IAW), Iskandar Sitorus, this is a fraud or this is "froud by the Commission". the quota that is burned and lost, and not all over it is intentional because the operators apply this behavior. This is massive, we are cheated, we buy it, Sitorus asks this must be investigated if necessary, disisti from operators who are on average foreign companies.

This lawsuit aims to put an end to the unilateral practice of operators who are considered "ghosts" who take away consumers' rights to internet quotas that have been purchased. "Without quotas, applications can't run, I lose access to my livelihood," said Didi. The main problem, according to Didi, is the uncertainty of the signal and the fluctuation of orders. Sehungi as an online motorcycle taxi must buy back quotas.

The issue of internet quotas that are wasted before they are used up is now entering the highest legal realm in the Constitutional Court. An online motorcycle taxi (ojol) driver, Didi Supandi, together with an online culinary trader and his partner Wahyu Triana Sari, officially filed a judicial review of Law Number 6 of 2023 concerning Cipta Kerja.

This case was also questioned by the DPR through the Hearing of the Commission of Members of Commission VI of the PDI Perjuangan Faction with the director of PT Telkom Indonesia. Member of Commission VI of the DPR RI PDI Perjuangan Faction, Sadarestuwati, questioned the director of PT Telkom, Dian Siswarini, protesting the problem of the quota that has not been exhausted, which is being sued to the Constitutional Court.

The court's ruling regarding the lawsuit for internet access became an important turning point in the history of digital Indonesia. In the midst of accelerating digital transformation, the internet is no longer just an additional facility, but has become a basic need for citizens: for education, economy, public services, health, to freedom of expression. Therefore, the legal ruling on this lawsuit is not merely a legal issue, but touches on the direction of state policy in guaranteeing the digital rights of its people.

If the lawsuit is granted, the state is obliged to place internet access as a basic right of citizens. As a consequence, the government must accelerate the development of digital infrastructure evenly, especially in the lagging, leading, and outermost regions (3T). Connectivity is no longer dependent on market logic alone, but becomes the constitutional responsibility of the state.

Network subsidies, expansion of fiber optics, strengthening of BTS in remote areas, and more affordable internet tariffs are a must. This decision will also encourage the birth of regulations that protect internet neutrality, freedom of expression, and protection of personal data. In the long run, Indonesia has the opportunity to narrow the digital divide, accelerate the equalization of the digital economy, and strengthen technology-based participatory democracy.

However, the fiscal and administrative consequences are not small. The state must allocate a large budget, improve the governance of digital infrastructure projects, and ensure transparency so that this policy does not become a new field of corruption. Nevertheless, this investment can be read as a strategic capital to build national competitiveness in the era of the global digital economy.

Freedom of Operators to Regulate

Victor Santoso Tandiasa, legal representative of the plaintiff. Said regulating the granting of freedom to operators who provide tariff determination. But in the provision, it does not include regulation, about internet quota. Quota has become a primary need as a primary execution tool, so if workers buy internet data, it becomes the workers' right. There is a lawsuit. The lawsuit questions the fairness of the internet quota, which is considered to be constitutionally harmful to consumers.

YLKI (Yayasan Lembaga Konsumen Indonesia) executive secretary, Rio Priambodo, said that he supported the lawsuit, he hoped that the Constitutional Court could make a new norm / decision that was more just for the community, what was the need for the community quota was very high. Data from YLKI about the quota is one of the most complaints.

Conversely, if the lawsuit is rejected, then internet access will still be positioned as a normal commercial service. The state only acts as a regulator, not a guarantor of rights. As a consequence, the development of digital infrastructure will continue to be concentrated in economically advantageous areas, especially in large cities and industrial centers. Meanwhile, remote areas risk continuing to lag behind, widening the digital divide that directly impacts educational, economic, and information inequality.

The rejection of the lawsuit also has the potential to strengthen the dominance of large corporations in the control of infrastructure and data. Without strong constitutional obligations, service rates can remain expensive, quality uneven, and protection of citizens' digital rights is weak. In the long run, this condition risks creating a "digital class" - those who are fully connected and those who are technologically marginalized.

In the end, this ruling will determine the direction of Indonesia's future in the digital era: whether the internet is seen as a citizen's right that must be guaranteed by the state, or merely a market commodity subject to the logic of profit. In the midst of an increasingly digitized world, this choice will determine how inclusive, fair, and democratic the face of Indonesia in the future.