The Indonesian Government is trying to create a digital ecosystem, which aims to boost potential benefits and mitigate possible risks in the era of disruption, according to a recent press release.
The Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Darmin Nasution explained that the role of the government, monetary authorities and financial sector authorities is increasingly important in facing the dynamics of the digital economic development.
All three are expected to act as regulators, facilitators and accelerators.
Policies required in developing a digital ecosystem
To become all three, the policies of each agency need to be directed to several important issues.
The first is maintaining the same level of playing field for all digital economy players.
The second is the implementation of enforcement and accountability. Digital surveillance must be clear and accompanied by fair penalties, which would provide a deterrent effect on violators. Violations include the misuse of personal data.
The third is the development of a telecommunications infrastructure project. The Government has already addressed this through the construction of the Palapa Ring, a 36,000 kilometre optic fibre project in the country.
The fourth is the creation of policies that support the matching of human resources with the skills required by the industry.
The fifth is to put in place a set of rules that will control unhealthy cross-border trading practices. Mechanisms to monitor and ensure imported products that enter the country via e-commerce are needed.
The sixth is economic transformation, which is designed to change the subsistence economic order into an organisation based on added value and competitiveness.
Current situation
Currently the global digital economy continues to grow rapidly. In Southeast Asia, the contribution of the internet economy to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has also increased over time.
The digital economy in Indonesia, for instance, is also growing rapidly in line with the increase in number of smartphone users and internet consumption.
The Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs hopes that the enormous digital economic potential is put to good use.
With a growing number of people gaining access online, the security and safety of users must be ensured.
Collaborating again online terrorism
Therefore, the news about Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Information signing a Memorandum of Action (MoA) with the National Counterterrorism Agency in order to address the issue of terrorism online is very timely.
The two agencies will work together to combat terrorism through programs addressing their proliferation in cyberspace.
The Minister of Communication and Information Rudiantara cited how content about terrorism and radicalism in cyberspace increased from 2017 to 2018.
Because of a scavenger machine that the Ministry has been using since 2018, more than 10,000 terrorism and radicalism content have been detected.
With the government and the community working together to address this, better response and action toward the issue are being done.
Add to that the collaboration between the Ministry and the National Counterterrorism Agency.
With these agencies leading the way, sharing of intelligence and knowledge regarding content and the virtual world will be easier.