Indonesia is about to issue binding AI rules, and the drafts leave state use largely unchecked

Indonesia is due to issue two presidential regulations on artificial intelligence in 2026, covering ethics and a national AI roadmap, aimed at promoting ethics, transparency and accountability. The East Asia Forum analysis argues they lean on existing laws that have been selectively enforced and lack independent oversight. It says the Electronic Information and Transaction Law has been used by political and economic elites to silence critics. Without a strong, autonomous data protection agency, the author warns, AI could become another tool of political repression, given Indonesia's biometric data and documented use of surveillance systems. The government's AI white paper does not address facial recognition of protesters or AI-generated propaganda against civil society.

This is a QeRN summary by Ahmed Qerni. Read the original at East Asia Forum: https://eastasiaforum.org/2026/09/04/indonesias-ai-regulations-leave-state-repression-unchecked/.