Strong Indonesian Data Protection Commission Good for Investment: Expert

TheIndonesia.co - Cybersecurity expert Dr. Pratama Persadha proposes the Personal Data Protection (PDP) Commission as an independent institution whose position is at the same level as other state institutions in order to maximally protect personal data through the PDP Law. A strong and independent PDP Commission can guarantee the security of personal data in the country.

The chairman of the Communication and Information System Security Research Center (CISSReC) said that this strong PDP Commission will not only benefit Indonesia directly but also has positive value for investors who will invest in Indonesia. "When it comes to investment, domestic and foreign investors will also see this as a positive value for investing in Indonesia, there are clear rules of the game and strong enforcement of the PDP Law," he said when contacted by Antara, Friday, April 8, 2022.

"If you want maximum personal data protection through the Law on Personal Data Protection (UU PDP), the PDP Commission must become an independent state commission, like other state commissions," he said.

He continued, the spirit of the PDP Law is to regulate the use and misuse of data by many large organizations, both private and state institutions themselves. Because of the risk of facing such great power, said this postgraduate lecturer at the State Intelligence College (STIN), the position and authority of the PDP Commission must be given in the best and strongest place.

He said the members of the PDP Commission should be nominated by the government and the Indonesian House of Representatives. They represent various elements, among others, the state civil apparatus (ASN), the community, academics, professionals, and officials.

Thus, said Persadha, a strong PDP Commission will have a stronger bargaining position in front of high-ranking state institutions and officials. According to Persadha, the placement of the PDP Commission under the Ministry of Communication and Information as well as the National Cyber and Crypto Agency (BSSN) will have the potential to collide with various interests because the PDP Commission's position is not strong.

He said, digitalization in Indonesia leads to increased state revenues, one of which must be strengthened is cyber ecosystem security. This is one of the reasons that the protection of personal data is crucial.

"This has a serious effect, a weak PDP Commission will make the enforcement of the PDP Law weak which in the end will make it not optimal, then from a state security perspective it will also be dangerous because this is a large multinational organization as well," said Persadha.

Persadha said of course there are other countries that place the PDP Commission under the ministry. However, their political and economic conditions are different compared to Indonesia.