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Machine Translated by Google Confirmation of the Standing of the Legal Body of the Defense Association Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression dated January 19, 2019; c. Whereas Plaintiff II has 35 (thirty five) members people throughout Indonesia and especially in the Papua region, Plaintiff II has 2 (two) members in the representative Jayapura. d. Whereas Plaintiff II in carrying out its activities in the form of: advocacy and education as stated in the The Articles of Association and Bylaws of the organization that carry out the function to fight for digital rights in the form of: Right to expression, Right to information and Right to security as mentioned below: Article 4 (AD) Purpose and objectives 1.) The aims and objectives of this association are: Promoting and fighting for digital rights in Asia Southeast especially Indonesia 2.) To achieve the aims and objectives mentioned above, then The Association carries out the following activities; a. Organize cooperation with various parties in the Body Government and Private, individual and community groups, local, national and internationally in the fight for digital rights including: the right to expression, the right to access to information and the right to security. b. Conducting education and training in the field of technology information in particular regarding digital rights in accordance with Page 14 of 280 pages of Decision No.230/ G/ TF/ 2019/ PTUN-JKT

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Alliance of Independent Journalists v. Minister of Communication

Case Law

Country

Indonesia

Country Location

Latitude: -0.789275

Longitude: 113.921327

Country Location (linked Case Law): Indonesia

Decision Date: Jun 3, 2020

Case Status: Closed

Case Outcome (Procedural)

Admissible

Case Outcome (Disposition)

Law or Action Overturned or Deemed Unconstitutional

Keywords

False News
Internet Shutdown

Judicial Body: First Instance Court

Court Name: Jakarta State Administrative Court

Case Number: 230/G/TF/2019/PTUN-JKT

Case Summary: On June 3, 2020, the Jakarta State Administrative Court held that the actions taken by the government of shutting down the internet network in West Papua and Papua province were unlawful and ordered the government to pay to the Plaintiffs the amount Rp. 457,000 (Four Hundred Fifty Seven Thousand rupiah) or $30.59 USD approx. The plaintiffs which included organizations advocating for press freedom, digital rights, the right to information and the welfare of the journalists sued the Minister of Communications and Informatics and the President of the Republic of Indonesia for throttling access to the internet in some areas of West Papua province and Papua province on August 19, 2019. The defendants invoked the spread of hoaxes, transmission of false news, racist speech and incitement as the reasons for throttling access to the internet. While recognizing the right to access internet as a fundamental right under the ambit of freedom of expression, the court observed that the restrictions on the freedom of expression must fulfill three conditions: first, restrictions must fulfill one of the following objectives: right to reputation, morality, religious values, security, decency, public order, or public health; second; restrictions must be prescribed by law; third, restrictions must be proportional. The court agreed that the internet was shut down under “security and public order considerations” however the governmental action was not prescribed by law and therefore did not satisfy the second criterion, as the government’s power did not extend to the termination of access to internet network at large but could be used only to terminate access to electronic information/documents that had unlawful content.

Case Significance: By holding that governmental action of shutting down the internet in the whole of West Papua and Papua province violated the right to access the internet, through which other human rights are realized, the Court expanded the freedom of expression. The court also remarked that “freedom of expression and information, including freedom of the press by using any means deemed appropriate to express opinions and information so as to reach as many people as possible, is a fundamental human right which is the basis of other rights and freedoms in a democratic society because it enables people to actualize all their rights and potential for self-development, convey and reveal the truth, and actively participate in the administration of government in order to realize transparent, accountable, responsive, effective and efficient governance (good governance)”. The court also opined that in the case of internet abuse through unlawful content distribution, an appropriate and proportional action would be if the restriction on the right to access the internet is only aimed at the perpetrators […] because if it is carried out in its entirety through the shut down of the internet network, it will have a greater negative impact in the form of derogating other human rights that find a positive realization through the internet.

The decision establishes a binding or persuasive precedent within its jurisdiction.

Source URL: Global Freedom of Expression

Collection

Columbia

Date Updated: Jul 10, 2024

Primary Documents

Judgement (English Translated)
English
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CYRILLA: Global Digital Rights Law

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Alliance of Independent Journalists v. Minister of Communication

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