Controversial ‘right to be forgotten’ finds its way into Indonesian law

Photo credit: Craig Cloutier.

Europe’s “right to be forgotten” has been called “a threat to journalism, freedom of speech, and the Internet itself.”

The troubling news is that Indonesia has adopted the right to be forgotten in a recent revision to the electronic information and transactions law (UU ITE). It’s the first of its kind in Asia.

Europe sets precedent

“The right to be forgotten” gives individuals an avenue to make platforms like Google remove links from search results if they lead to articles containing personal information they find embarrassing.

Ever since a European court ruled in favor of an individual who presented such a case in 2014, Google has received hundreds of thousands of similar requests.

In a recent revision of internet laws, Indonesia recognizes the right to be forgotten.

The ruling can protect an individual’s right to privacy – for example if an ex posted naked images of you online as an act of revenge.

But critics say the European ruling set a precedent, leading to people misusing it to shape their public image online.

In Indonesia, there’s no case yet in which an individual has fought for the removal of search engine results to protect public reputation – but the mere existence of the clause in the revised internet laws might inspire some to do so.

In Germany, for example, links to an article about an individual’s involvement with radical right-wing groups were removed from Google search results.

It’s Google who has the final say in which removal request it accepts or denies. The firm set up an online form and assigned legal teams to handle the requests.

Indonesia says yes

While the execution of the clause in Indonesia is still up in the air, some people fear it could lead to misuse.

Is this going to be another clause which will be mainly used by powerful people?