Subsidiarity: Journal of Law and Technology Policy

Regulating Artificial Intelligence in Indonesia: Legal Challenges, Ethical Governance, and Policy Harmonization

M. Misbahul Mujib — 2026-06-16

The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed various sectors in Indonesia, including public services, finance, education, healthcare, and digital commerce. While AI offers significant opportunities for economic growth and technological innovation, its implementation also raises complex legal and ethical challenges related to data protection, algorithmic bias, accountability, transparency, cybersecurity, and human rights. This article examines the regulatory framework governing artificial intelligence in Indonesia and analyzes the extent to which existing laws are capable of addressing emerging technological risks. Using a normative juridical approach combined with a conceptual analysis of ethical governance, the study explores the relationship between national regulations, international AI governance principles, and policy harmonization efforts. The findings demonstrate that Indonesia’s current legal framework remains fragmented and sectoral, creating regulatory gaps in the supervision and accountability of AI-based systems. Moreover, ethical governance mechanisms have not been comprehensively institutionalized within public policy and regulatory enforcement. The study argues that effective AI regulation in Indonesia requires an integrated legal framework that balances innovation, legal certainty, public protection, and ethical responsibility. Policy harmonization between national legislation, digital governance institutions, and international standards is essential to ensure responsible, transparent, and human-centered AI development in Indonesia’s evolving digital ecosystem.

Digital Surveillance and the Right to Privacy: A Comparative Study between Indonesia and the European Union

Hajar Salamah Salsabila Hariz — 2026-06-18

The rapid expansion of digital surveillance technologies has intensified the tension between national security interests and the protection of individual privacy rights. This article examines the legal frameworks governing digital surveillance and the right to privacy through a comparative study of Indonesia and the European Union (EU). Employing a normative juridical approach with comparative legal analysis, the study reviews constitutional provisions, statutory regulations, judicial decisions, and international human rights instruments concerning data protection and state surveillance. The findings reveal that the European Union has established a comprehensive privacy regime through the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and robust judicial oversight, ensuring that surveillance measures comply with the principles of legality, necessity, and proportionality. In contrast, although Indonesia has strengthened its regulatory framework through the Personal Data Protection Law and electronic information legislation, significant challenges remain regarding institutional oversight, transparency, accountability, and effective legal remedies against unlawful surveillance. The study argues that Indonesia can enhance its digital governance by adopting a rights-based surveillance framework inspired by the EU model while accommodating its constitutional values and national security concerns. This comparative analysis contributes to the growing discourse on digital constitutionalism, privacy protection, and the development of balanced surveillance governance in the digital era.

Algorithmic Accountability and Administrative Decision-Making: Legal Implications of Automated Governance Systems

Firdaus Arifin — 2026-06-20

The increasing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic decision-making systems has transformed public administration by enhancing efficiency, consistency, and predictive capacity in governmental decision-making processes. However, the growing reliance on automated governance systems has also generated significant legal and ethical concerns regarding transparency, accountability, due process, and the protection of fundamental rights. This article examines the legal implications of algorithmic accountability in administrative decision-making through a normative juridical approach employing doctrinal and comparative legal analysis. The study analyzes constitutional principles, administrative law doctrines, data protection regulations, and emerging AI governance frameworks to evaluate the extent to which existing legal systems can ensure accountability for automated administrative decisions. The findings reveal that although algorithmic systems improve administrative efficiency, their opaque decision-making processes, potential algorithmic bias, lack of explainability, and limited mechanisms for human oversight may undermine the principles of legality, procedural fairness, and democratic accountability. The study argues that effective automated governance requires a human-centered legal framework integrating transparency, explainability, independent oversight, risk-based regulation, and accessible judicial remedies. It proposes an Algorithmic Accountability Framework that combines administrative law principles with emerging AI governance standards to ensure that automated decision-making remains consistent with the rule of law and the protection of fundamental rights. This framework contributes to the evolving discourse on responsible AI governance and digital administrative law.

Generative Artificial Intelligence and Copyright Law: Rethinking Intellectual Property Protection in the Digital Era

Adnan Nuril Anwar — 2026-06-22

The rapid advancement of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has fundamentally transformed the creation, dissemination, and commercialization of creative works, posing unprecedented challenges to traditional copyright law. Generative AI systems are capable of producing text, images, music, software code, and audiovisual content that closely resemble human-authored works, thereby raising complex legal questions concerning authorship, ownership, originality, infringement, and liability. This article examines the implications of generative AI for copyright protection through a normative juridical approach employing doctrinal and comparative legal analysis. The study evaluates existing copyright principles alongside emerging regulatory frameworks, including international intellectual property standards and recent legislative developments concerning artificial intelligence. The findings indicate that conventional copyright doctrines, which are predominantly based on human creativity and identifiable authorship, are increasingly inadequate for addressing AI-generated content and algorithm-assisted creativity. Furthermore, the widespread use of copyrighted works for training generative AI models raises unresolved issues relating to fair use, licensing, transparency, and the rights of creators. This study argues that future copyright governance should move beyond a purely author-centric paradigm toward a balanced, innovation-oriented framework integrating human creativity, technological development, and public interest. It proposes a Human-Centered AI Copyright Framework that incorporates transparency, accountability, licensing mechanisms, fair remuneration, and human authorship principles to ensure sustainable intellectual property protection while fostering responsible AI innovation in the digital era.

Deepfake Technology and Criminal Liability: Challenges for Contemporary Criminal Law

Imam Purnomo Aji — 2026-06-26

The rapid advancement of deepfake technology, driven by artificial intelligence and deep learning algorithms, has created unprecedented challenges for contemporary criminal law. Deepfakes enable the realistic manipulation of images, audio, and video, making it increasingly difficult to distinguish authentic digital content from fabricated material. While this technology offers legitimate applications in entertainment, education, and digital media, its misuse has facilitated a wide range of criminal activities, including fraud, identity theft, defamation, non-consensual intimate image creation, election manipulation, cyber extortion, and the dissemination of disinformation. These developments expose significant weaknesses in existing criminal law, which was primarily designed to address conventional forms of criminal conduct rather than AI-generated digital deception. This article examines the criminal liability arising from the misuse of deepfake technology through a normative juridical approach supported by comparative legal analysis. It analyzes the adequacy of existing criminal law doctrines concerning actus reus, mens rea, causation, accomplice liability, and corporate responsibility, while evaluating emerging regulatory frameworks in selected jurisdictions. The findings indicate that current legal frameworks remain fragmented and insufficient to address the complex distribution of responsibility among developers, platform providers, content creators, and end users. Accordingly, this study proposes a Risk-Based Deepfake Criminal Liability Framework integrating criminal responsibility, platform accountability, technological safeguards, victim protection, and judicial oversight to strengthen criminal law responses while preserving innovation, freedom of expression, and digital rights in the age of artificial intelligence.