Palace Buzzers Immune to ITE Law, Observer Reveals

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A political observer who is also the founder of Kedai Kopi pollster, Hendri Satrio, disclosed the practice of injustice in law enforcement towards pro-government buzzers. Hendri opined they seemed to be immune to regulations, and if they commit a legal mistake, they were not subject to the Electronic Information and Transaction or the ITE Law.

“The problem is it is okay for those around the Palace environment to be wrong, but others may be charged with the ITE Law,” said Hendri during a discussion on buzzers and threats against democracy at the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) office on Jalan Diponegoro, Jakarta, Friday, Oct. 10.

Hendri said the government could use some help from social media buzzers so long as they spread good information. However, he added, they could be disturbing when practices of injustice occured. For instance, they shared invalid information that was detrimental to others.

Previously, the Director-General of Informatics Application at the Ministry of Communication and Information (Kominfo), Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, commented on social media buzzers.

Semuel affirmed that their activities were not a violation of the prevailing law. However, the ministry would continue monitoring contents they disseminated.

“Buzzers are allowed, they are not a violation. The violation is on the contents, so we monitor their contents,” said Semuel at the BPPT building, Jakarta, Wednesday, Oct. 8.

FIKRI ARIGI | EKO WAHYUDI