•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   

Anew information technology crimes bill looks set to spark intense public debate next year given its high priority on the House of Representative’s 2010 National Legislation Program.

The Alliance of Independence Journalists (AJI) considers the bill, known as the Tipiti bill, even “more repressive and stretchable” than the controversial 2008 Information and Electronic Transaction (ITE) Law.

AJI chairman Nezar Patria said on Wednesday that while he agreed there should be a law to prosecute cyber crimes, he rejected the bill for being “overly aggressive and not emphasizing the investigation of digital evidence enough.”

Ministry of Communication and Information Technology spokesman Gatot Dewa Broto dismissed the complaint.

“There is not a single law that does not regulate sanctions on violation of the law,” he said.

Gatot said the bill contains articles on extraction and investigation of digital forensic data as evidence of cyber crimes.

The absence of a comprehensive cyber crime law made it difficult for law enforcers to investigate and prosecute crimes committed using information technology, he said.

The bill would be different from the ITE Law, which mainly focuses on electronic transactions, Gatot said.

Although initially proposed alongside the ITE Law, the bill was delayed as the House prioritized the ITE Law, arguing that there was an urgent need to have a law combating online fraud.

“The Tipiti bill would be more comprehensive than the ITE Law because it regulates information technology-related crimes that are not included in the ITE Law,” Gatot said.

However, the AJI said that the cyber crimes bill would overlap with the ITE Law in regulating Internet activity.

The ITE Law has drawn strong public criticism for allegedly restricting freedom of speech and has since been mainly used to file defamation charges against Internet users.

Omni International Hospital in Tangerang used the law as a base to file libel charges against housewife Prita Mulyasari who had complained to friends about the hospital’s poor service in an email. The email was subsequently widely circulated.

Another possible victim of the ITE Law is actress Luna Maya who compared infotainment workers to prostitutes in a tweet on the micro-blogging site Twitter. Despite her posting an apologetic tweet the next day, the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI), which represents journalists in the entertainment sector, insisted in filing defamation complaints against her under the ITE Law.

Minister of Justice and Human Rights Patrialis Akbar on Tuesday said the ITE Law would be revised because it has been exploited mainly for defamation charges. The AJI said it appreciated the step.

“The ITE Law may be revised, but concurrently the information technology crimes and media convergence bills are being deliberated,” Nezar said

The new law may end up being more repressive than the ITE Law in curbing freedom of speech on the Internet, he said.

AJI called for a “comprehensive design to regulate the Internet” based on democratic principles before revising existing laws and drafting new bills.

“A media convergence bill is necessary but it should not contain articles that restrict freedom of expression,” Nezar said.

Gatot said that the idea to merge the ITE Law, the 2002 Broadcasting Law and the 1999 Telecommunications Law was currently being debated internally within the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.
Aprotester with a poster of actress Luna Maya and housewife Prita Mulyasari covering his face during a demonstration in Surabaya on Thursday. Both women have fallen afoul of the 2008 ITE Law, which activists believe limits free speech. They say a new cyber crimes bill on next year’s legislative program is even more repressive . Antara Photo