NU National Conference urges government to protect citizens' personal data access

Kediri (ANTARA) - The 2026 National Conference (Munas) of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Religious Scholars is urging the government to ban other countries from freely accessing citizens’ personal data and to ensure the personal data of Indonesian nationals is protected. This forms a recommendation from the Bahtsul Masail Maudhuiyah Commission of the 2026 NU National Conference of Religious Scholars, held at Al Falah Islamic Boarding School in Ploso Village, Mojo District, Kediri Regency, East Java. “The government, as the owner of the national data centre, bears a great responsibility to safeguard that data so it does not leak to other parties,” said Commission Member K.H. Aniq Nawawi during a plenary session at Al Falah Islamic Boarding School, Kediri, on Monday. Gus Aniq, as he is familiarly known, stated that personal data constitutes a personal secret that must be protected for its owner. “Other parties permitted to access that data also have a responsibility to keep it from being disseminated,” he said. Gus Aniq added that Article 4 of Law Number 27 of 2022 on Personal Data Protection explains that personal data consists of specific data and general data. Specific personal data includes, for example, biometric data, genetic data, and criminal records. Meanwhile, general personal data includes full name, gender, religion, marital status, and/or personal data combined to identify a person. According to Imam As-Syafi’i, Gus Aniq said, the definition of wealth (mal) is something that has a price value so it can be the object of a transaction and must be compensated if damaged. However, in the present era, the definition of wealth has shifted from being purely physical to something that can also be non-physical, meaning that the non-physical wealth referred to is something society considers to have financial value, such as trademark rights and intellectual rights. “Thus, in this case, personal data can be categorised as al-mal al-ma’nawi as a database for various personal data controllers,” he stated. Gus Aniq added that consequently, personal data controllers are obliged to protect consumer data as a realisation of hifzhul mal within the maqashid shariah concept. Personal data deemed to have no clear commercial value must still be protected by the personal data controller, whether a digital platform or the government. This is because such personal data can cause adverse effects for the data owner as it is closely linked to human dignity. “Therefore, specific personal data also carries an obligation to be protected by personal data controllers as an implementation of one element of maqashid shariah,” he said. The forum also formulated that taking possession of another person’s personal data without consent (ghairu ridha) and without proper mechanism constitutes an act of ghasab, which is forbidden in Islam. This is especially so if the party committing ghasab without permission has processed that personal data and derived substantial profit from it. “This also constitutes an act violating the Personal Data Protection Law. Such criminal acts need to be given legal sanctions,” he said. PBNU is holding the 2026 National Conference of Religious Scholars and the NU Grand Conference at Al Falah Islamic Boarding School in Ploso Village, Mojo District, Kediri Regency, from 20 to 22 June 2026. The opening ceremony was held at Al Falah Islamic Boarding School, Kediri, and the closing will be held in Bangkalan on 23 June 2026. The President is scheduled to attend the closing ceremony.