A Case Study on Facebook Data Theft in Indonesia

Abstract

The rights to privacy as an individual fundamental right should be protected. Ironically, this right is deliberately delivered publicly in social media. And Facebook, the largest social media, keep more than 2.2 billion privacies data in the whole world. In early April 2018, one million personal data of Indonesian Facebook users was stolen by other parties. Mark Zuckerberg, as a founder and CEO, acknowledged that the Facebook data consisting of customer personal data had been stolen and used by other parties. It is one of the weaknesses and negligence of Facebook that needs to be addressed in the future. Indonesia government issued a warning letter to Facebook and required formal explanation concerning those recent cases. However, the Government's seriousness on the protection of personal data of its citizens is still questioned. How Indonesian regulations cover private data protection on their citizen and what steps should be taken to protect personal data in Indonesia? By using the International instrument and Indonesia legal instruments on the protection of privacy right, this article would give the answer what government Indonesian should do to undertake this situation. The research found that the regulation of privacy protection is sufficient yet the government has no determination to take account seriously on protecting the privacy right, and no sanction to the parties was involved. Socialization on the importance of personal data toward Indonesian society in Indonesia should be done, from the basic to the top level. Keyword: Right Privacy, International Law, Fundamental Rights