Author: Hosea Immanuel LatumahinaEditor: Achmed Faiz Siregar
In recent years, Indonesia’s digital economy policy has been mobilized massively and extensively, both domestically, regionally, and internationally. Most recently, on February 19, 2026, the Indonesian government signed the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) with the United States (US), which also includes an agreement on the two countries’ digital policies. Although defined as a strategic mechanism for strengthening the bilateral partnership, the ART agreement’s construction is considered problematic because it tends to regulate Indonesia’s obligations rather than those of the US, resulting in imbalances and unequal bargaining power (unequal bargaining power in trade agreement) between Indonesia and the US.[1]
Topography of the Digital Clauses of the ART Agreement
In the regional realm, Indonesia is experiencingdigital economic growthsignificant and the highest among other countries in the region. In 2025,Gross Merchandise Value Indonesia’s GMV reached USD 99 billion, much higher than Vietnam (USD 39 billion), Malaysia (USD 39 billion), and the Philippines (USD 36 billion).[2] This value is projected to experience continuous growth to reach USD 130 billion in 2026 and USD 360 billion in 2030.[3] In terms of digital transactions, Indonesia, until February 2026, experienced growth of 40.35% globally year-on-year (yoy) which reached 4.67 billion transactions.[4] These various conditions and achievements make Indonesia the epicenter of the region’s digital economy.[5]
Indonesia’s reputation as the highest digital economy value in ASEAN not only makes it a regional digital economy hub but also a potential subject for international trade cooperation by the United States through the ART agreement. Its clauses also include the context of the national digital economy. Specifically, several digital articles aim to regulate Indonesia’s digital policy. First, Articles 3.1-3.2 require Indonesia not to implement digital services taxes and duties on digital products. These articles have the potential to harm Indonesia by reducing fiscal space for state revenue from cross-border digital trade and widening the state budget deficit.
Second, in Annex III Article 3.3, Indonesia is asked not to require US digital platforms to support national media through the paid license scheme, profit sharing, or sharing of user data. This article is counterproductive to Presidential Decree No. 32/2024 concerning Publisher Rightswhich stipulates obligations for digital platforms to produce quality journalistic products. Furthermore, Presidential Regulation No. 32/2024 also aims to regulate the business relationship between digital platforms and the press industry to encourage fairness and strengthen quality journalism.[6] This article risks having a negative impact, not only on the national press or media industry business, but also on the quality of digital information and the national journalism ecosystem.
Third, in Annex III Article 3.2, Indonesia is ‘forced’ to recognize the US as the organizing jurisdiction protecting adequate personal data, and ensuring the smooth transfer of personal data to the US. This article is certainly highly sensitive to the security and privacy of Indonesian citizens’ personal data. This is because, in addition to positioning the US—a government authority outside the Indonesian government’s territorial jurisdiction—as the manager of Indonesian citizens’ personal data, the US itself does not yet have regulations.protectionspecific and comprehensive personal data at the federal level.[7] In addition, substantially, the article is also counterproductive to the agenda of strengthening national digital sovereignty through mechanisms of protection and control of personal data as contained in Law Number 27 of 2022 concerningProtectionPersonal Data (PDP Law).[8]
Fourth, in Annex III Article 2.29, Indonesia is asked to allow international payment networks to process domestic transactions across borders (extraterritorial) and use standard chip international standards for all card transactions. This article also risks weakening the position of the National Payment Gateway (GPN) as the national payment system standard aimed at strengthening the sovereignty of the domestic payment system.[9] Based on the elaboration above, the four digital articles contained in the ART agreement risk weakening Indonesia’s digital position. Furthermore, the ART agreement manifests a practice of digital colonialism that has the potential to undermine national digital sovereignty and degrade Indonesia’s bargaining position in cross-border digital cooperation.[10]
Endemic Digital Colonialism
In the past, under the banner of trading companies, many of the world’s superpowers (global superpower) expanded economic power and influence to other countries—which are generally politically, economically, and militarily weak. The imbalance of power and the gap in influence with the countries they trade with, encourage these superpowers to shift their orientation from mere business expansion to power domination. This shift in orientation ultimately leads to the practice of colonialism—colonizing weak countries through domination in almost all areas of statehood.[11]
Much like the practices of conventional colonialism demonstrated during the colonial era, digital colonialism represents a relatively similar concept. The phrase “digital colonialism” is based on corporate expansion and the dominance of power by superpowers in the field of digital technology.[12] Don Tapscott in his book entitled The Digital Economy (1994), has predicted various negative implications in the future of the industrial revolution and digital transformation that occurred at that time, including the decline in privacy boundaries, shifts in the structure of the labor market, and widening economic disparities.[13] The presence of the ART agreement between Indonesia and the US appears to validate these theories and legitimize the practice of digital colonialism.
Every digital clause construction contained in the Indonesia and US ART agreement – starting from Article 3.1 – 3.3 regarding digital tax to Annex III Article 3.2 regarding the recognition of the US as a jurisdictionprotectionPersonal data—has limited Indonesia’s ability to determine the direction of national digital policy. Furthermore, the ART agreement also provides legitimacy and concessions to the US to control the Indonesian government regarding what digital fiscal policies can be implemented, how the national press and media industry should be built, and how democracy in the digital space should be implemented.[14] It is this loss of government control over state policy that conceptualizes the ART agreement between Indonesia and the US as a manifestation of the practice of digital colonialism, namely the conquest and control of the US–especially through Big Tech companies–towards Indonesia’s digital resources.
Consequences of Digital Sovereignty and Economy Politics
When a country is colonized by another country, the result is that country loses sovereignty over its territory and resources. Using the same conceptual logic, the practice of digital colonialism implies the colonizing country’s loss of control over digital sovereignty, namely the sovereignty of its digital ecosystem and resources. Moerel & Timmers (2021) define digital sovereignty as a country’s ability to determine regulations independently de jure or de facto related data privacy, national security, and the competitiveness of the national digital economy on a regional and global scale.[15][16]
In the context of governance, digital sovereignty refers to the ability of a government to regulate digital data and technology within its own territory, manage the integrity and security of its information systems, and protect the data and digital rights of its citizens.[17] The digital clause in the Bylaws agreement, which reduces the Indonesian Government’s control over its digital policies and ecosystem, explicitly obstructs threats to national digital sovereignty and becomes a dissonance for national digital policies to strengthen digital sovereignty.[18]
From the perspective of the political economy of international trade, US dominance and intervention through the ART agreement also weakens the bargaining position (bargaining power) of Indonesia in the landscape of equal and balanced cross-country digital cooperation, especially with the US itself.[19] Furthermore, Article 5.2, which stipulates Indonesia’s obligation to restrict exports and investment from countries on the US government’s boycott or sanctions list, risks introducing discriminatory practices in international digital cooperation between Indonesia and other countries.[20] [21]
Mainstreaming National Digital Interests
In response to the various risks arising from the presence of the Indonesia-US ART agreement, concrete initiatives and strategic mechanisms are needed to resolve any potential negative impacts that may arise from it. Various efforts, such as negotiations, adjustments and equalization of clauses, and even termination of cooperation agreements, need to be on the government’s agenda in the near future. Furthermore, priority reforms to domestic digital policies must be directed towards mainstreaming national interests. Various national digital policies and agendas such as the implementation of digital taxes to tightening protection National personal data must remain the prerogative of the Indonesian government, without intervention or coercion from other countries’ authorities through the dominant technology industry or unequal trade agreements. This stance is not only intended to be an initiative to reverse the practice of digital colonialism, but also a response that affirms the Indonesian government’s presence and role in safeguarding and strengthening digital sovereignty from the threat of domination by other countries’ authorities.
[1] Indonesia for Global Justice 2026, Koalisi masyarakat sipil gugat Presiden di PTUN: Perjanjian dagang ART Indonesia-AS bertentangan dengan konstitusi dan mengancam kedaulatan ekonomi nasional, https://igj.or.id/2026/03/11/koalisi-masyarakat-sipil-gugat-presiden-di-ptun-perjanjian-dagang-the-agreement-on-reciprocal-trade-art-indonesia-as-bertentangan-dengan-konstitusi-dan-mengancam-kedaulatan-ekonomi-nasional/
[2] World Bank 2025, Digital Foundation for Growth, World Bank, Washington, DC, https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstreams/ed2db479-6c07-47ce-8084-aef847660681/download
[3] Kompas 2025, Mencermati landskap ekonomi digital Indonesia 2025 dan prospeknya pada 2026, https://www.kompas.id/artikel/en-mencermati-landskap-ekonomi-digital-indonesia-2025-dan-prospeknya-pada-2026
[4] Bloomberg Technoz 2026, BI: Volume transaksi digital tumbuh 40,3% pada Februari 2026, https://www.bloombergtechnoz.com/detail-news/103383/bi-volume-transaksi-digital-tumbuh-40-3-pada-februari-2026
[5] Kementerian Koordinator Bidang Perekonomian Republik Indonesia 2024, Pemerintah dorong kolaborasi Asia-Oceania untuk pertumbuhan ekonomi digital berkelanjutan, https://www.ekon.go.id/publikasi/detail/6852/pemerintah-dorong-kolaborasi-asia-oceania-untuk-pertumbuhan-ekonomi-digital-berkelanjutan
[6] Kementerian Komunikasi dan Digital Republik Indonesia 2024, Mendorong keadilan dan menciptakan jurnalisme berkualitas, https://www.komdigi.go.id/berita/artikel/detail/mendorong-keadilan-dan-menciptakan-jurnalisme-berkualitas
[7] Kompas 2025, Transfer data RI-AS: Pembentukan otoritas pelindungan data pribadi kian mendesak, https://www.kompas.id/artikel/transfer-data-ri-as-pembentukan-otoritas-pelindungan-data-pribadi-kian-mendesak
[8] KlikLegal 2024, Menguji komitmen pelindungan data dalam kesepakatan dagang Indonesia-Amerika Serikat, https://kliklegal.com/menguji-komitmen-pelindungan-data-dalam-kesepakatan-dagang-indonesia-amerika-serikat/
[9] Bisnis Indonesia 2026, Perjanjian dagang RI-AS: Indonesia tak wajibkan data pembayaran diproses di dalam negeri, https://finansial.bisnis.com/read/20260221/90/1954600/perjanjian-dagang-ri-as-indonesia-tak-wajibkan-data-pembayaran-diproses-di-dalam-negeri
[10] Bisnis Indonesia 2026, Serikat pers ingatkan ancaman kolonialisme digital di balik perjanjian dagang RI-AS, https://teknologi.bisnis.com/read/20260224/84/1955510/serikat-pers-ingatkan-ancaman-kolonialisme-digital-di-balik-perjanjian-dagang-ri-as
[11] Gramedia 2023, ‘Kolonialisme’, Gramedia Literasi, Jakarta, https://www.gramedia.com/literasi/kolonialisme/
[12] IMUNE 2023, ‘Teknokapitalisme dan Kolonialisme Digital’, IMUNE, Indonesia, https://imune.id/teknokapitalisme-kolonialisme-digital/
[13] Don Tapscott 1996, The Digital Economy: Promise and Peril in the Age of Networked Intelligence, McGraw-Hill, New York, https://dontapscott.com/books/the-digital-economy/
[14] Bisnis Indonesia 2026, ‘Serikat pers ingatkan ancaman kolonialisme digital di balik perjanjian dagang RI-AS’, Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta, https://teknologi.bisnis.com/read/20260224/84/1955510/serikat-pers-ingatkan-ancaman-kolonialisme-digital-di-balik-perjanjian-dagang-ri-as
[15] EU Cyber Direct 2021, ‘Reflections on Digital Sovereignty’, EU Cyber Direct, Brussels, https://eucyberdirect.eu/research/reflections-on-digital-sovereignty
[16] Fachri 2024, ‘Mengenal digital sovereignty dan dampaknya terhadap negara dan masyarakat’, Hukumonline, Jakarta, https://www.hukumonline.com/berita/a/mengenal-digital-sovereignty–dampaknya-terhadap-negara-dan-masyarakat-lt666341d18dbfe/
[17] Prayudi 2023, ‘Kedaulatan digital’, Informatika UII, Yogyakarta, https://informatics.uii.ac.id/2023/07/11/kedaulatan-digital/
[18] Trisno 2026. ‘Kedaulatan Digital Indonesia di Tengah Perjanjian Dagang ART dengan AS, Java’s Corner, Indonesia, https://javascorner.co.id/post/kedaulatan-digital-indonesia-di-tengah-perjanjian-dagang-art-dengan-as
[19] Institute for Economic and Social Research, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Indonesia 2024, ‘Perjanjian perdagangan Amerika Serikat–Indonesia: respon dan antisipasi Indonesia pasca Agreement on Reciprocal Trade’, LPEM FEB UI, Jakarta, https://lpem.org/perjanjian-perdagangan-amerika-serikat-indonesia-respon-dan-antisipasi-indonesia-pasca-agreement-on-reciprocal-trade-dan-keputusan-us-supreme-court/
[20] Universitas Gadjah Mada 2024, ‘UGM kritisi kebijakan Agreement on Reciprocal Trade Indonesia-AS’, UGM, Yogyakarta, https://ugm.ac.id/id/berita/ugm-kritisi-kebijakan-agreement-on-reciprocal-trade-indonesia-as/
[21] Bloomberg Technoz 2026, ‘Deal tarif: AS blokir dagang suatu negara, Indonesia wajib ikut’, Bloomberg Technoz, Jakarta, https://www.bloombergtechnoz.com/detail-news/100187/deal-tarif-as-blokir-dagang-suatu-negara-indonesia-wajib-ikut