Electronic transaction bill 'lacks substance'

Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Years of intense public pressure on the government to draft a bill on electronic information and transactions have been a bit of a disappointment as the completed draft lacks concrete substance to regulate the crucial issue of cyber crime, according to experts on the subject.

The government recently submitted the draft to the House of Representatives, but it was still unclear when it would be deliberated upon. If approved, the bill will be the first cyber law in the country.

The draft, a copy of which was obtained by The Jakarta Post, consists of 48 sections that provide common rules on three issues: electronic information and its supporting system, electronic transactions and legal sanctions.

An electronic transaction is defined as a legal action that is done via computers, a computer network or any electronic medium.

Such a transaction is considered to have occurred when an agreement has been reached between the concerned parties, including the checking and verification of data, identity, personal identification number or password.

According to the bill, an agency can be set up with the task of issuing a certificate for enterprises selling products or services over electronic media.

Nevertheless, there are no articles that specifically regulate clear measures to prevent cyber fraud or at least a set of security requirements that one must fulfill when making electronic transactions to minimize possible abuse.

The absence of such a regulation is indeed what many experts say is lacking, if the government is serious about curbing unrestrained cyber crimes in the country.

On a positive note, the draft allows electronic information and/or printed results of electronic information to be used as evidence in a court of law.

Data compiled by the Indonesian Internet Service Providers Association shows that there were at least 210 Internet credit card fraud cases in 2003.

A report from the Indonesian Credit Card Association shows that credit card fraud caused a total loss of about Rp 60 billion (US$6.55 million) last year, which was about 50 percent higher than in 2002.

Other types of fraud through the Internet include gaming fraud, tax fraud and "e-procurement" fraud.

In terms of legal sanctions, the most severe violation is illegally using and/or accessing computers and/or electronic systems in order to obtain, alter, damage or delete information that belongs to the government.

Such a violation carries a maximum of 20 years imprisonment and/or a Rp 10 billion fine, according to the proposed draft.

Similar actions done in order to enrich oneself or obtain financial information from the central bank, private banks, other financial institutions and credit card issuing companies carry a maximum of 10 years in prison and/or a Rp 2 billion fine.

Experts have said that a cyber law is essential in the current economic era. It could also encourage more businesspeople to start doing business over the Internet with the implementation of e-commerce since legal certainty would be guaranteed.

At present, there is only one cyber crime division, set up in May last year, at the Jakarta Police.

Electronic information is a collection of electronic data that includes texts, symbols, pictures, signs, writing, sounds, and other forms that have been processed so that they have meanings.

The definition excludes letters of will, marriages, ownership documents or any other document that requires notarial legalization.

The draft bill also states that electronic information can be considered valid as long as it can be held accountable, accessed, retrieved and displayed, and its completeness is guaranteed so that it explains an action.