April 30, 2025 | 07:11 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Constitutional Court ruled out government, civil groups, and corporations from defamation articles under the Electronic Information and Transactions Law (ITE Law). Deputy House Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said the parliament respects the court's ruling.
He mentioned that the top court's decision is final and binding, but he said on Wednesday, April 30, that Indonesians must uphold Eastern values and "maintain our behavior" despite the decision.
The Gerindra Party boss warned people not to cross the line while expressing their opinions on social media. "There are surely boundaries we must heed as Indonesians. We must limit ourselves," he added.
The Constitutional Court had previously issued Decision Number 105/PUU-XXII/2024, stating that defamation laid out under ITE Law does not apply to the government, civil groups, or corporations. The Court declared that the phrase "others" in Article 27A juncto Article 45 paragraph (4) of Law Number 1 of 2024 refers to individuals.
MK mentioned that in order to ensure legal certainty as stipulated in Article 28D paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution, Article 27A of the ITE Law must be declared conditionally unconstitutional. "As long as it is not interpreted except for government institutions, a specific group of people, institutions, corporations, professions, or positions," said Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat on Tuesday, April 29, 2025.
A request for a material review of Article 27A of the ITE Law was filed by Daniel Frits Maurits Tangkilisan, a resident of Karimunjawa. He challenged several phrases in several articles of ITE Law due to unclear intention and potential subjection to misuse. Article 27A juncto Article 45 paragraph (4) regulates the prohibition of defamation through electronic systems. Meanwhile, Article 28 paragraph (2) juncto Article 45A paragraph (2) regulates the spread of hatred.
In its decision, MK partially granted the request on Article 27A juncto Article 45 paragraph (4) of the ITE Law. MK stated that these norms were conditionally unconstitutional in order not to violate the principles of legal certainty and protection of freedom of expression as guaranteed by the constitution.
Dani Aswara contributed to the writing of this article
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