The Indonesian Law Enforcement Challenges over Encrypted Global Social Networking Platforms

Abstract

The usage of instant messaging continues to grow annually in Indonesia. The shifting of mobile communication from traditional voice and SMS based telecommunication to global internet based social networks and instant messaging has brought new challenges for the government. The end-to- end encryption model which is commonly adopted in global instant messaging applications, such as Whatsapp, may challenge the interception procedures by law enforcers. This is a traditional literature review on current Indonesian policies and regulations. Scientific papers were purposively selected in supporting the arguments. The discussion of the paper consists of three sections: 1) Interception and Data Protection; 2) The Indonesian regulatory challenges; 3) The policy recommendations. The current regulation most likely is insufficient to support lawful interception (LI) for encrypted voice and text on instant messaging plaftorms. The practical implementation of the Law towards foreign instant messaging providers remain constrain particularly the Permanent Establishment status. In respect of ongoing process of LI bill drafting, this paper suggests the bill should accommodate the Circular Letter of the Minister of Communication and Information Technology regarding the formation of Permanent Establishment for foreign electronic system and transaction providers.