TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The government must take firm measures following the data leak of over one million Facebook users in Indonesia. Tough sanctions, say in the form of temporary blocking, must be considered. The US social networking company has failed to protect its users' personal data. Furthermore, Facebook has not been in a hurry to submit the results of its audit of the leak, although the government has already made its request on April 5.
What this means is that not a single Facebook user in Indonesia knows if their data is safe or if it has been leaked. Although the personal data breach of 1.1 million Indonesians was part of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the direct tie between the data of Indonesian citizens and the British political consulting firm's shady practice is not yet known.
Perhaps Indonesian citizens did not concern Cambridge Analytica researcher Aleksandr Kogan's political interests when he created a personality quiz using Facebook as its platform. Under the guise of academic research, the app recorded the personal data of tens of millions of Facebook users. Later, it was discovered that Cambridge Analytica succeeded in influencing the results of the British referendum and the US presidential election using the data.
Recording personal data is not difficult to do for social networking companies such as Facebook. The company developed algorithms that allow them to analyze the behavioral pattern of social media users. These algorithms are capable of grouping social media users with similar interests, areas of concern, and even political leanings and affiliations-and this information can be processed and utilized to influence the decisions of social media users.
In Indonesia, Facebook uses algorithms to deliver ads that are specific to the interests of its users. So far, this advertising strategy has not sparked substantial criticism. But politics is a different matter entirely, especially where it concerns the right to vote, one of any citizen's basic rights. When an algorithm can read into a person's political choices and proceeds to flood the said person with political advertisements or materials that contradict or strengthen the person's private choices, this is clearly a violation of privacy and human rights. Especially when social media users end up being fed with false information or hoaxes.
The government needs to intervene to prevent this unfortunate likelihood from happening. A verbal reprimand and two written warnings to Facebook are not enough. In accordance with the communications and informatics ministry's regulation on personal data in electronic systems, information and transactions, the government has the authority to impose temporary suspensions-which the government may use to force Facebook, whose Indonesian users total 130 million, to submit its audit report.
The government has successfully 'disciplined' another app company, Telegram, with a temporary suspension. The chat application was seen as a platform for the spread of radicalism and terrorism. The government unblocked Telegram after its content was improved.
Seeing the tremendous increase in the number of social media users in the country, it is time for Indonesia to have a more comprehensive Personal Data Protection Act and impose not only administrative sanctions. While we wait for the law to materialize, we must try to be more prudent and not freely share all aspects of our personal lives on social media.
Read the full article in this week's edition of Tempo English Magazine
