It's Only A Matter Of Time Before The PDP Bill Is Passed, The Independent Supervisor Will Be Handed Over To The President

Chairman of Commission I DPR RI Meutya Hafid. Photo: Runi/nvl

JAKARTA - The House of Representatives will soon ratify the Personal Data Protection Bill (PDP), which has been initiated since 2016. Commission I of the Indonesian House of Representatives said that the PDP Bill is just synchronizing.

"Alhamdulillah, all DIM (Problem Inventory List) have been discussed. Various things that yesterday there were sharp differences, have now succeeded in reaching a meeting point with the government," said Chairman of Commission I of the House of Representatives Meutya Hafid, Wednesday, July 6.

In the DPR Plenary Session, Tuesday, July 5, the discussion of the PDP Bill was extended because it still needed a little time. Meutya said that the PDP Bill was targeted to be ratified during the next session of the DPR, namely August 2022.

"The next trial period is only for the thymus (formulating team) and timsin (synchronization team) to re-examine, synchronize. So the next trial period can be knocked, God willing," he said.

Previously, the DPR and the Government had not agreed on the establishment of a personal data protection authority. However, it has now been agreed that the establishment of an independent institution will be handed over to the President.

"It was agreed that this institution would be appointed or formed based on a Presidential Decree (Presidential Decree). Do you want to form a new one or appoint an existing one, please," explained Meutya.

"What is important in the law, our duties and authorities are to provide guidelines so that this institution can become a strong institution in overseeing data protection practices," continued the legislator from the North Sumatra I electoral district.

Meutya said, Indonesia must immediately have a special legal umbrella related to the protection of personal data. Because based on the constitution, private property must be protected by the state.

"A sense of security by the state must exist in protecting individual ownership, including personal data," said Meutya.

Not only that, the PDP Bill is also needed as an effort by the State to welcome current digital developments. Moreover, said Meutya, there are many sectors of life that intersect with the issue of personal data protection.

"The potential of the digital economy is very, very large, so it needs to be equipped with supporting regulations such as the Personal Data Protection Law," he explained.

Meutya reminded, Indonesia is one of the largest internet user countries in the world. Both in terms of the number of users and the amount of time spent in cyberspace per individual in Indonesia.

"We need to have laws that regulate large data traffic both domestically and also massive data movement from within the country to abroad because some of the applications enjoyed by the Indonesian people come from abroad," explained Meutya.

The PDP bill also allows Indonesia to have data sovereignty. The data sovereignty in question includes the management and use of data by industry, as well as state institutions for the protection and security of the public.

Through the policy that will soon be formed, the State will have regulations to set rules for the protection and security of personal data or non-personal data. The PDP bill is also related to digital security, especially with the many data leaks that have occurred recently.