The Constitutional Court (MK) has emphasised that the government must\nprovide clear reasons and digital or written notification before\nperforming access disconnection or the blocking of digital content.\nAccording to the Court, this is necessary to ensure that no abuse of\npower occurs.<\/p>\n
The order is contained in decision number 3LL\/PUU-XXIV\/2026 regarding\nthe judicial review of Article 40 paragraph (2b) of Law Number 1 of 2024\nconcerning Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE), which was\nfiled by six students and one researcher.<\/p>\n
\u201cGranting the petitioners\u2019 request in part,\u201d stated the Chief Justice\nof the Constitutional Court, Suhartoyo, while reading the verdict at the\nCourt building on Tuesday (29\/9).<\/p>\n
In its considerations, the Court understands that restricting digital\ncontent that violates legal provisions is necessary to maintain\nIndonesia\u2019s digital space. The government\u2019s role in such restrictions is\ndeemed essential to prevent content that has a negative impact on the\npublic.<\/p>\n
\u201cTherefore, on one hand, to protect the public interest from being\neasily impacted by content containing illegal material, and on the other\nhand, to ensure that the constitutional rights of digital space users\nalso have legal protection,\u201d said Constitutional Judge Asrul Sani.<\/p>\n
Although the government possesses the authority to disconnect\ncontent, according to the Court, the government must also deliver\ndigital notifications in the form of an announcement to the parties or\nowners of the digital content subject to blocking.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this context, even though it possesses authority, the procedure\nthat should be undertaken by the government in performing the\ndisconnection of electronic information and\/or electronic documents must\nalso be precisely regulated so that the possibility of abuse of\nauthority in the implementation of access disconnection to electronic\ninformation and\/or electronic documents does not occur, or at the very\nleast, can be significantly reduced,\u201d said Arsul.<\/p>\n
He stated that the government must be responsible in processing the\ndisconnection of internet content by providing clear reasons to the\naffected parties. According to him, this obligation must be demonstrated\nby issuing a digital notification or a written notice accompanied by\nclear reasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis can be placed as part of the functioning of the checks and\nbalances mechanism to prevent the abuse of power that is highly\npossible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Court added that these rules aim to balance two things: the\npublic\u2019s right to access information free from illegal content, and the\npublic\u2019s right to disseminate information without hindrance.<\/p>\n
The Court also stated that affected parties may pursue legal remedies\nif the blocking of their digital content does not violate statutory\nprovisions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis includes instances where there is a disconnection of access by\nthe government and\/or electronic system providers; parties who feel they\nhave not committed any legal violations or breaches of statutory\nregulations may seek legal remedies as determined by the prevailing laws\nand regulations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In this regard, the Court declared that Article 40 paragraph 2b of\nthe ITE Law is unconstitutional insofar as it is not interpreted as\nfollows: \u201cIn carrying out prevention as referred to in paragraph 2A, the\ngovernment is authorised to perform access disconnection and\/or instruct\nelectronic system providers to perform access disconnection of\nelectronic information and\/or electronic documents containing illegal\ncontent after issuing or releasing a digital notification or written\nannouncement along with its reasons.\u201d<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/constitutional-court-orders-government-to-provide-clear-reasons-when-blocking-digital-content-1790683078", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }