Criticising State Institutions in Indonesia’s Digital Sphere After Constitutional Court Decision 105/PUU-XXII/2024

Pinky Roseva Santoso; Robby Cahya Illahi; Faiqking Zaki Rizqullah Ramadhana Adnan; Alung Prasetyo; Wildan Mukholladun

doi:10.33756/eslaj.v8i2.36170

Criticising State Institutions in Indonesia’s Digital Sphere After Constitutional Court Decision 105/PUU-XXII/2024

Pinky Roseva Santoso, Robby Cahya Illahi, Faiqking Zaki Rizqullah Ramadhana Adnan, Alung Prasetyo, Wildan Mukholladun

Abstract

Freedom of expression is guaranteed by Article 28E(3) of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, yet expression aimed at state institutions in the digital sphere remains exposed to the criminal provisions of the Electronic Information and Transactions (EIT) Law. This article asks how Indonesian positive law delimits that freedom, and what Constitutional Court Decision 105/PUU-XXII/2024 implies for the handling of digital criticism. The September 2025 episode involving content creator Ferry Irwandi and officers of the Indonesian National Armed Forces is used as factual context, not as an adjudicated case. The study is normative legal research combining statute, case, and conceptual approaches, with grammatical, systematic, and constitutional interpretation. It finds that the Court created no general immunity for criticism. It narrowed the class of persons who may stand as victims under Article 27A, excluding government bodies, institutions, corporations, professions, and offices, and it confined the element “a matter” to conduct degrading personal honour. Expression may still be unlawful under other offences when every element is met. Institutional standing, rather than the critical content of speech as such, is therefore the decisive variable.

Keywords

Chilling Effect; Constitutional Court; Criminal Defamation; Freedom of Expression; State Institutions

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.33756/eslaj.v8i2.36170