Harmonising Data Regulations: Launch of a Policy Brief

On 30 October 2025, the policy brief “Harmonising Data Regulations: Advancing Indonesia’s Role in the Global Digital Economy” was launched in Jakarta. It was published on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Digital Transformation and Government Modernisation (BMDS) and the Indonesian Ministry of Communications and Digital Affairs (MCDA) with support from the Indonesian Business Council (IBC) Institute. The launch highlighted the importance of internationally harmonised data regulation.

Data has long become a strategic factor for economic development. For the growing digital economy of Indonesia, internationally compatible data regulation is highly important – as a prerequisite for enabling investment, building trust and fostering innovation.

To promote harmonised data regulations, BMDS, MCDA and IBC decided to jointly launch a policy brief.

The strategic importance of trusted data regulation

A central finding of the policy brief is the current fragmentation of Indonesia’s data regulation landscape. Responsibilities remain distributed across various institutions, sectoral rules overlap, and enforcement mechanisms are still under development. This creates uncertainty for businesses, particularly when processing and transferring personal data across borders.

Incidents such as the Temporary National Data Center (PDNS) breach in 2024 show the consequences of insufficient governance structures – financial loss, operational disruption and loss of trust in digital services. Trusted data regulation is becoming a structural necessity.

The policy brief emphasises that data regulation carries strategic importance for digital trade and international investment. A transparent and interoperable regulatory framework forms the basis for trustworthy data flows and facilitates global business processes.

International models as references

The policy brief compares existing regulatory approaches that show different priorities, with an emphasis on the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Indonesia’s Personal Data Protection Law demonstrates alignment with key principles of the GDPR but still lacks individual rights, enforcement, and clarity on international data transfers.

These findings are an important reference for further harmonisation and a potential data adequacy decision by the EU.

Cooperation for better data regulation

During the launch event, stakeholders from academia, the industry and civil society shared their perspectives on the matter, as harmonised data regulation cannot be shaped by the government alone. Businesses require clear compliance expectations and the government is asked to take their needs into account. The launch event demonstrated that a regular dialogue between public and private stakeholders is essential to regulate data in a way that is both innovation-friendly and responsible.

The policy brief shows that Indonesia aims for harmonised and trustworthy data regulation to better integrate into global digital value chains. The Indonesian-German Digital Dialogue provides a cooperation framework for this purpose. It enables mutual learning and the exchange of regulatory experience and strengthens the digital partnership between the two countries.