The creation of a fake social media account using another person’s identity, without their knowledge or consent, can be legally problematic. This falls within the purview of electronic information, as defined in Article 1, Paragraph 1 of Law Number 11 of 2008 concerning Electronic Information and Transactions, as last amended by Law Number 1 of 2024 concerning the Second Amendment to Law Number 11 of 2008 concerning Electronic Information and Transactions (“ITE Law“). Electronic information encompasses electronic data or a collection thereof, including but not limited to text, voice, images, maps, designs, photographs, electronic data interchange (EDI), electronic mail, telegrams, telexes, telecopies or similar, letters, signs, numbers, access codes, symbols, or perforations that have been processed and have meaning or can be understood by those capable of understanding it.
The creation of a social media account impersonating another person or using another person’s identity without their knowledge and consent may be indicative of an intention to defame the reputation of that person or to gain material benefits from the creation of the fake social media account. This is especially true if the person in question is a public figure trusted by many.
Those who create social media accounts using another person’s identity violate the provisions of Article 35 in conjunction with Article 51, Paragraph (1) of the ITE Law.
Article 35 ITE Law:
“Any person who intentionally and without right or unlawfully manipulates, creates, alters, removes, or destroys Electronic Information and/or Electronic Documents with the intention that such Electronic Information and/or Electronic Documents are considered as if they were authentic data.”
Article 51, Paragraph (1) ITE Law:
“Any person who fulfills the elements as referred to in Article 35 shall be punished with imprisonment for a maximum of 12 (twelve) years and/or a fine of up to Rp12,000,000,000.00 (twelve billion Indonesian Rupiah).”
Additionally, the individual may also be charged under Article 378 of the Indonesian Criminal Code (KUHP), which states:
“Whoever, with the intent to benefit oneself or another unlawfully, by using a false name or false reputation, by means of deceit, trickery, or a series of lies, induces another person to surrender any property to them, or to provide a loan or cancel a debt, shall be punished for fraud with imprisonment for a maximum of 4 years.”
If the fake social media account is used for fraud, it may also be subject to Articles 65(1) and (3) in conjunction with Article 67(1) and (3) of Law Number 27 of 2022 concerning Personal Data Protection (PDP Law).
Article 65, Paragraph (1) of the Personal Data Protection Law (PDP Law):
“Any person is prohibited from unlawfully obtaining or collecting Personal Data that does not belong to them with the intent to benefit themselves or others, which may result in harm to the Data Subject.”
Article 65, Paragraph (3) of the PDP Law:
“Any person is prohibited from unlawfully using Personal Data that does not belong to them.”
Article 67, Paragraph (1) of the PDP Law:
“Any person who intentionally and unlawfully obtains or collects Personal Data that does not belong to them with the intent to benefit themselves or others, resulting in harm to the Data Subject as referred to in Article 65, Paragraph (1), shall be punished with imprisonment for a maximum of 5 (five) years and/or a fine of up to Rp5,000,000,000.00 (five billion Indonesian Rupiah).”
Article 67, Paragraph (3) of the PDP Law:
“Any person who intentionally and unlawfully uses Personal Data that does not belong to them as referred to in Article 65, Paragraph (3), shall be punished with imprisonment for a maximum of 5 (five) years and/or a fine of up to Rp5,000,000,000.00 (five billion Indonesian Rupiah).”
Victims can report such offenses to the competent authorities responsible for criminal offenses in the fields of information technology and electronic transactions, personal data protection, and fraud.
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