The Personal Data Protection of Internet Users in Indonesia

The emergence and rapid development of information and communication technology has brought about various opportunities and challenges. One of them is the active interaction between individuals and the digital-based information service providers. In modern economic development, related information including personal data or also known as digital dossier—the collection of large amounts of an individual’s information using digital technology—are valuable assets due to their high economic value since they are widely utilized by businesses. In this regard and due to the increasing number of cellphone and internet users, there is a need to study the issues on the importance of protecting one’s personal data. In Indonesia, there is no specific regulation regarding the protection of personal data. Therefore, it is essential to come up with specific and comprehensive legislation related to personal data protection as legal basis for better implementation of personal data protection in Indonesia in the future. The purpose of this research is to find out and analyze the current policies on protection of personal data of internet users in Indonesia. This study uses a normative juridical method with a statutory approach and utilizes literature study. The result shows that the concept of personal data protection implies that individuals have the right to determine whether one will join an online community, share or exchange personal data with another, and the conditions that must be met in order to do so. The study likewise found that the threat of personal data leakage is increasingly occurring because of the development of the e-commerce sector in Indonesia.