Operators must comply with Constitutional Court ruling that unused data quotas cannot be forfeited

Member of Commission I of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) Oleh Soleh stated that telecommunications operators must comply with the Constitutional Court (MK) ruling which affirms that remaining internet quotas purchased by consumers cannot be unilaterally forfeited. In a statement received in Jakarta on Friday, the legislator overseeing communications and informatics urged all operators to immediately implement the Court’s decision and improve their service systems. “Telecommunications operators must promptly adjust their service systems and mechanisms in line with the MK ruling. The public must not continue to be disadvantaged because the remaining quota they have purchased suddenly expires without clear protection,” he said. According to him, the ruling is highly significant for the public as it provides protection for consumer rights over internet quotas that have been legally purchased and paid for. The Court affirmed that internet quota is an intangible object to which private property rights are attached, obliging the state to provide protection for those rights. In its ruling, the MK also affirmed that remaining internet quota holds economic value because it is obtained through lawful payment. The unilateral deletion of remaining quota without adequate protection is therefore unjustifiable. “All this time, the public has often been disadvantaged by the forfeiture of remaining internet quotas they have already purchased. Even if the remaining quota may not provide profit for the operator, for the public it still holds value and is a right that has been paid for,” he stated. Oleh Soleh stressed that the implementation of the MK ruling must become a momentum to build a telecommunications service governance that is fairer, more transparent, and pro-consumer. “In principle, every right of the public obtained lawfully and paid for must receive protection. Therefore, I urge telecommunications operators to immediately implement this ruling consistently,” he said. The Constitutional Court, through ruling number 273/PUU-XXIII/2025, affirmed that unused internet quotas still hold economic value. The Court stated that data packages which have been paid for constitute private property in the form of intangible goods. The economic value paid by consumers, the Court stated, must receive legal protection. Consequently, the benefits of the service, namely the remaining quota, cannot be arbitrarily eliminated when the active period ends. The Court stated that if the service benefits are terminated unilaterally, such a situation violates the protection of property rights and creates unfair legal uncertainty as guaranteed by the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia. In its ruling, the Court declared that Article 28 paragraph (1) in Article 71 point 2 of the Appendix to Law Number 6 of 2023 on Job Creation is conditionally unconstitutional. The Court provided a new interpretation of the article, stating that in setting tariffs, telecommunications operators must provide service options that guarantee users’ remaining quotas remain active and usable. The ruling was delivered on Thursday, 23 July. The Court partially granted the petition filed by online motorcycle taxi driver Didi Supandi, online trader Wahyu Triana Sari, and advocate Rega Felix.