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Navigating the Legal Minefield: The Impact of Articles 27A and 27B of Indonesia's EIT Law on Freedom of Expression and the Path to Legal Reform

Journal of Law and Legal Reform · Vol. 6 No. 1 (2025) · pp. 265–304

DOI
10.15294/jllr.v6i1.19116
ISSN
2715-0968, 2715-0941
Published
2025-03-13
Publisher
Faculty of Law, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia
Language
eng
License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0

Abstract

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) officially approved the second revision of Law Number 1 of 2024 on the Second Amendment to Law Number 11 of 2008 on Electronic Information and Transactions (EIT) on January 4, 2024, reflecting the government's effort to align regulations with the rapid development of information and communication technology. While this revision introduces significant changes, particularly Articles 27A and 27B regulate actions that attack a person's honor or reputation. The public views it as a missed opportunity to eliminate existing ambiguities and potential misuse. This research employs normative legal methods with statutory, conceptual and comparative approaches, adopting a descriptive-prescriptive nature. The analysis reveals that the unclear definitions and potential for multiple interpretations of Articles 27A and 27B negatively impact freedom of expression, creating fear and uncertainty among the public, journalists, and government critics. Furthermore, these provisions violate fundamental human rights principles and contradict the 1945 Constitution and the values of Pancasila, which uphold freedom of expression and social justice. Therefore, while this revision reflects an effort to address the challenges of the digital era, further revisions are necessary to ensure that the law not only meets the needs of law enforcement but also protects human rights, freedom of expression, and remains consistent with the 1945 Constitution and Pancasila. This will prevent the law from becoming a tool for suppressing critical voices and journalistic investigations, which are essential to a healthy democratic society.

Keywords

Collaboration network of the authors

17 authors · 39 co-authorship links

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Co-authorOrganisationJoint articles
Irma CahyaningtyasAffiliation unknown4
Zico Junius FernandoAffiliation unknown4
Muhammad Azil MaskurAffiliation unknown2
Ridwan ArifinAffiliation unknown1
Heri PurwantoAffiliation unknown1
Achmad CholidinAffiliation unknown1
Muchlas Rastra SamaraAffiliation unknown1
Sumartini DewiAffiliation unknown1
Wildan Azkal FikriAffiliation unknown1
Faikar Sir ZadataqiAffiliation unknown1
Budi IspriyarsoAffiliation unknown1
Rizky Ika PratiwiAffiliation unknown1
SolehuddinAffiliation unknown1

Affiliations come from OpenAlex; journal OAI-PMH metadata carries none. Authors without an OpenAlex ID are matched by name, which can merge or split people.

Metadata source: OAI-PMH (metadata jurnal) https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/jllr/oai, first harvested 6 Nov 2026, last seen 8 Nov 2026.
Original metadata (oai_dc)
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	<dc:title xml:lang="en">Navigating the Legal Minefield: The Impact of Articles 27A and 27B of Indonesia's EIT Law on Freedom of Expression and the Path to Legal Reform</dc:title>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Feka, Mikhael</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Pujiyono</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Sularto, R.B.</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Pareke, JT.</dc:creator>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Legal Awareness</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Legal Reform</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Freedom of Expression</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Human Rights</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Pancasila</dc:subject>
	<dc:description xml:lang="en">President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) officially approved the second revision of Law Number 1 of 2024 on the Second Amendment to Law Number 11 of 2008 on Electronic Information and Transactions (EIT) on January 4, 2024, reflecting the government's effort to align regulations with the rapid development of information and communication technology. While this revision introduces significant changes, particularly Articles 27A and 27B regulate actions that attack a person's honor or reputation. The public views it as a missed opportunity to eliminate existing ambiguities and potential misuse. This research employs normative legal methods with statutory, conceptual and comparative approaches, adopting a descriptive-prescriptive nature. The analysis reveals that the unclear definitions and potential for multiple interpretations of Articles 27A and 27B negatively impact freedom of expression, creating fear and uncertainty among the public, journalists, and government critics. Furthermore, these provisions violate fundamental human rights principles and contradict the 1945 Constitution and the values of Pancasila, which uphold freedom of expression and social justice. Therefore, while this revision reflects an effort to address the challenges of the digital era, further revisions are necessary to ensure that the law not only meets the needs of law enforcement but also protects human rights, freedom of expression, and remains consistent with the 1945 Constitution and Pancasila. This will prevent the law from becoming a tool for suppressing critical voices and journalistic investigations, which are essential to a healthy democratic society.
 </dc:description>
	<dc:publisher xml:lang="en">Faculty of Law, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia</dc:publisher>
	<dc:date>2025-03-13</dc:date>
	<dc:type>info:eu-repo/semantics/article</dc:type>
	<dc:type>info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion</dc:type>
	<dc:format>application/pdf</dc:format>
	<dc:identifier>https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/jllr/article/view/19116</dc:identifier>
	<dc:identifier>10.15294/jllr.v6i1.19116</dc:identifier>
	<dc:source xml:lang="en">Journal of Law and Legal Reform; Vol. 6 No. 1 (2025): January, 2025; 265-304</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2715-0968</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2715-0941</dc:source>
	<dc:source>10.15294/jllr.v6i1</dc:source>
	<dc:language>eng</dc:language>
	<dc:relation>https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/jllr/article/view/19116/3178</dc:relation>
	<dc:rights xml:lang="en">Copyright (c) 2025 Mikhael Feka, Pujiyono, R.B. Sularto, JT. Pareke (Author)</dc:rights>
	<dc:rights xml:lang="en">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0</dc:rights>
</oai_dc:dc>