Internet quota lawsuits
Over the past two months, several lawsuits have been filed with the Constitutional Court (MK) challenging the practice of expiring prepaid internet quotas, on the grounds that it violates consumer rights. Paid internet data is the property of consumers, and the state has a constitutional obligation to protect it. At the same time, the government must formulate proportional policies that safeguard consumers without having to impose unwarranted burdens on internet operators.
When reform rhetoric masks a rent-seeking machine
The corruption trial surrounding the procurement of Chromebook laptops at Indonesia’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology has stripped away the language of reform and exposed something far more familiar: a sprawling rent-seeking network operating behind the banner of digital transformation.
The Foreign Propaganda Bill
At Prabowo’s behest, the government is moving to draft a bill specifically aimed at combating disinformation and foreign propaganda. While the stated objective is to safeguard national sovereignty, critics warn that such a move could come at the expense of civil liberties. Given the current state of Indonesia’s democracy, the bill could easily become an instrument of control rather than a form of protection. It is not about whether disinformation should be addressed, but how the state chooses to do so.
When telecom regulation lags, the digital economy pays the price
Mobile operators are right to warn that the country’s telecommunications regulations are no longer fit for purpose. This should not be dismissed as routine industry lobbying. It is a structural warning that an outdated regulatory framework risks slowing digital transformation at the very moment when connectivity is becoming a core economic input.
Why KPK’s new gratification rules matter
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has revised one of its most technical yet politically sensitive instruments: the regulation governing gratification reporting by public officials. At first glance, the change looks procedural, even mundane. Thresholds are adjusted, deadlines refined, and administrative mechanisms simplified. Yet the urgency behind this revision tells a more consequential story about how Indonesia is trying to keep its anti-corruption framework functional amid shifting economic realities and institutional constraints.
What Ahok’s Testimony Reveals
The ongoing corruption trial over Pertamina’s crude oil and fuel trading governance gained renewed public attention this week with the testimony of Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, widely known as Ahok. As the former chief commissioner of Indonesia’s state-owned energy company, his appearance was widely expected to be politically charged. Yet beyond the headlines, his statements warrant a sober assessment of what they actually add to the case.
Biometrics, SIM cards, and the limits of regulation
New regulation on SIM card registration marks a turning point in how the state defines identity, access, and control in the digital age. Under the newly issued ministerial regulation, registering a mobile phone number will now require biometric facial data. What was once a matter of providing a national identification number has become a question of surrendering one’s face.
Who really has the power to revoke corporate permits?
The government’s decision to revoke the permits of 28 companies allegedly linked to environmental destruction in Sumatra has been widely applauded as a long-awaited show of state authority. After years of regulatory paralysis, the move appears decisive, even cathartic. Yet beneath the political symbolism lies a more uncomfortable question: was the revocation legally airtight, or does it risk collapsing under procedural scrutiny?
Land seizures and the quiet dismantling of legal certainty
President Prabowo Subianto’s plan to seize another four to five million hectares of oil palm plantations in 2026 is being sold as a triumph of law enforcement. In reality, it risks becoming something far more troubling: a state-sanctioned admission that Indonesia has failed to govern its land regime, and is now compensating for that failure by ruling through coercion rather than law.
Was Jokowi Merely Mentioned—or Implicated?
When former education minister Nadiem Makarim stood before the corruption court and invoked former president Joko Widodo, the statement was more than a personal defense. It was a political signal. By asserting that the controversial Chromebook procurement stemmed from a presidential mandate to accelerate digital education, Nadiem effectively shifted the spotlight from ministerial discretion to the highest office in the country.