There Must Be a Wiretapping Act to Prevent Arbitrary Actions

Wiretapping must be regulated by a dedicated piece of legislation, namely a Wiretapping Act, to ensure that such coercive measures do not violate human rights. ‘To create a Wiretapping Act,’ said Prof Firmanto Laksana, Chair of the Special Education for Advocacy Profession, Certification, and Cooperation at Peradi’s DPN, during a hybrid seminar on ‘Urgency of Wiretapping in the New KUHAP and the Concept of Its Implementing Regulations’ in Jakarta on Friday evening, 22 May 2026, WIB. Prof Firman explained that Indonesia needs a lex specialis that regulates the wiretapping mechanism comprehensively, ‘while upholding the principles of human rights, legality, accountability, and oversight.’ According to Firman, there must be a Wiretapping Act to prevent arbitrary actions and privacy violations by investigators or law enforcement officers. ‘Wiretapping that is unlawful because any violation under Article 258 of the KUHP carries penalties, namely imprisonment for up to 10 years or a category 6 fine,’ he said. He also proposed that the Draft Wiretapping Bill must include provisions that unlawfully obtained wiretapping results be destroyed. Furthermore, wiretapping must be supervised tightly. If violations occur, he added, advocates can file a pretrial legal action. Wiretapping must also be authorised by the court. The Wiretapping Act must regulate the use, storage, and destruction of the results of wiretapping. ‘Wiretapping must be conducted in the pro justitia context, because the KUHP states that coercive measures are part of the investigation stage,’ Firman said.