The Legal Framework for Personal Data Deletion on Social Media in Indonesia: A New Chapter in Digital Privacy Protection

Abstract

The pervasive use of social media necessitates serious attention to personal data protection, particularly during registration where users must provide identifiers like usernames, birth dates, and email addresses, raising significant legal concerns over data security and management. In Indonesia, this protection is framed by Law No. 27 of 2022 on Personal Data Protection (PDP Law). Article 8 explicitly affirms the data subject's right to terminate processing, delete, and/or destroy personal data, formally acknowledging the right to erasure. However, the law omits clear technical procedures for exercising this right, creating legal uncertainty. This study aims to address two primary questions: first, how current positive law (ius constitutum) regulates social media users' personal data protection regarding personal data deletion; and second, the legal responsibilities of platforms in personal data breach cases. Employing normative legal research with a descriptive-analytical library approach, the study utilizes statutory and analytical methods. Legal materials comprise primary sources like regulations and secondary sources including legal textbooks and journals. Data is presented, interpreted, and evaluated through qualitative descriptive-analytical analysis. The research findings indicate that the process for personal data deletion on social media platforms remains heavily contingent upon user-agreed terms and conditions, governed by contractual agreements. Furthermore, platforms bear legal responsibility to provide compensation, specifically in the form of monetary damages, for breaches resulting from their proven fault or negligence.