The Blocking Of Steam Et Al By Ministry of Communication and Information Has An Impact On Economic Activities

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA – The Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS) believes that the blocking of several digital platforms by the Ministry of Communication and Information (Kemenkominfo) last week had an impact on economic activity.

Head of Economic Opportunities Research CIPS Trissia Wijaya said this blocking also covered concerns while those who questioned the government's ability to protect the data they could now access.

Trissia said that only one temporary problem was resolved from this blocking, namely that the government had begun to carry out its role as a regulator in data protection.

"But now a new problem has arisen, namely whether the government can really guarantee the protection of the data that it can now access from these digital platforms?," she said in an official statement, quoted on Tuesday, August 2.

As is known, this blocking invites criticism from various parties, especially on social media, related to the impact of blocking on the welfare of platform users.

"Blocking gaming sites will have an impact on the livelihoods of many people and blocking payment facilities such as PayPal also causes a lot of disruption in the economy," she said.

Trissia said the Minister of Communications and Informatics Regulation number 5/2020 which underlies the blocking, requires Private Scope Electronic System Operators (PSE) to provide access to their electronic systems or data to ministries or agencies and law enforcement officials.

"Although the access is said to be in the context of supervision in accordance with the laws and regulations, there is no guarantee from the government that the PSE system or data accessed by the government is properly protected and confidentiality is guaranteed," she explained.

Therefore, Trissia suggested that access to the private PSE system should be a last resort and information security mitigation measures, including regulations regarding sovereignity, should be prioritized.

CIPS, according to her, is more likely to emphasize that the government is willing to accommodate various inputs, especially regarding the legality aspect, who can grant access permission and how the testing and objection mechanism is as well as the sovereignity aspect, how data is controlled, stored and by whom.

"The government should also be aware that with the rapid development of the use of the internet and digital platforms in Indonesia and the continuous flow of information exchange between users, disruption to this landscape will have an impact on the economy, knowledge sharing, and entertainment," she said.

Trissia said that disruption can also have an impact on the confidentiality of personal data, individual security, and ultimately individual freedom of expression.

For your information, on Saturday, July 30, the Ministry of Communication and Information blocked five gaming sites - Epic Game, Steam, Dota, Counter Strike, Origin EA and three other sites, namely Yahoo Search Engine, Xandr and PayPal, because these sites had not yet registered with the ministry. after the deadline has passed.

The Ministry of Communication and Information said that Steam is currently registering and will soon be unblocked once registration is complete.