INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF ASEAN PERSPECTIVE AND POLICY

Law on Cyberbullying in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei

Darusallam
Siti Khairunnissa1, Abdul Rahman Maulana Siregar1, Andry Syafrizal Tanjung1
1
Faculty of Social Science, Universitas Pembangunan Panca Budi, Medan, Indonesia
1
[email protected]

ABSTRACT
All state have various laws that might apply to bullying behaviors. However, this law shows
unintended. This study shows legal analysis in some journal, acts, and regulation in every state. Law
Journals were conducted. It examines laws and policies dealing with cyberbullying in Indonesia,
Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam starting with defining cyberbullying and then comparing the
measures in which the issues surrounding cyberbullying have been addressed using various legal
strategies.As of August 2017, 48 states had electronic harassment laws which explicitly included cyber
bullying in US State. A total of 44 states included criminal sanctions in their cyber bullying laws. The
authors point out that the majority of U.S. states have written legislation to address bullying and
cyberbullying and that many state legislation that prohibit electronic bullying and developed
consequences for doing so. This study was conducted to gain insight into how cyberbullying law
implemented in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei Darussalm.Last, after analyzing existing legislative
methods an cyberbullying cases around the world, this article concludes with legal and policy
recommendations based on these comparisons in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei Darusallam.
Keyword : Law, Cyberbullying, Indonesia, Malaysia,Brunei Darusallam

1. Introduction Yet there is also legislation that could be

used for looking t the Indonesian Criminal Code
Information technology has become Act (KUHP).
widely. It becomes excellent places for people to By looking at both the legal regulation
express themselves. Information technology is over Indonesia, inconclusive cyberbullying has
associated with benefit and consequences. not been regulated explicitly, even the
Positive benefits include access to information, interpretation that there also has not been able to
access online communite for empowering accommodate the Act of cyberbullying. 1
business, and access to teaching and learning At present, Laws on cyberbullying are
resources. being drafted in Malaysia.2 The results indicated
However, Information technology has that there is a lack of awareness regarding
also been associated with considerable negative cybercrimes and its related laws among active
implications. This includes cyberbullying. With Internet users. Such negative attitude towards
the existence of social media and its easy access, cybercrimes may contribute to the prevalence of
bullying became came even more prevalent and cyberbullying in this country3
was coined cyberbullying.
The first study question concerns the
need for an informative and clearly focused 1
Eka Nugraha Putra, Urgency Of
analysis of state legislation to describe the Regulating Cyberbullying On Indonesian Law,
purpose and structure of laws and their Proceedings of The 3rd Annual International
definitions, key provisions, similarities, and Conference Syiah Kuala University (AIC
differences in Indonesia,Malaysia, and Brunei Unsyiah) 2013 In conjunction with The 2nd
Darussalam. International Conference on Multidisciplinary
In Indonesia, cyberbullying occurs in the Research (ICMR) 2013 October 2-4, 2013, Banda
school environment among children or teenagers, Aceh, Indonesia
thus the laws of Indonesia tackle the problem as 2
Laws to tackle cyber bullying being drafted in
one school safety through Article 45B of the new Malaysia
amendment of the Electronic Information and www.scmp.com/tech/article/2068707/laws-cyber-
Transactions (ITE) Law, cyberbullying is now bullying-being-drafted-malaysia
finally considered as a form of harassment, and a 3
Muhammad Shawal bin Abdul Rashid,
criminal act that carries a maximum Redicting The Intention To Cyberbully And
imprisonment term of four years and/ or fines Cyberbullying Behaviour Among The
amounting to Rp 750,000 (US$55.55). Undergraduate Students At The International
Islamic University Malaysia
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Among the 17 Asian countries analyzed: and Todd Loik, and pledged to “focus on
3 countries (Japan, Philippines, and Republic of protecting the most vulnerable of all victims” by
Korea) have domestic laws regarding introducing “legislation giving police and
cyberbullying;1 country (Singapore) is prosecutors new tools to effectively address
considered to have legislation concerning cyberbullying that involves criminal invasionof
cyberbullying although Singaporeanlaw does not privacy, intimidation and personal abuse.” 5
use the explicit terms of “cyberbullying” or
“bullying”; and 13 countries (Brunei Darussalam, 2. Definition Of Cyberbullying
Cambodia, China, Democratic People’s Republic Cyberbullying is defined as “[t]he use of
of Korea, India,Indonesia, Lao People’s electronic communication to bully a person,
Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Mongolia, typically by sending messages of an intimidating
Myanmar, Thailand, Timor-Leste, andVietnam) or threatening nature.
do not have domestic laws concerning Based on Chapter 647 Oregon Laws 2007,
cyberbullying4 (1) “Cyberbullying” means the use of any
Malaysia does not have any laws to take electronic communication device to harass,
action against online harassers, but given the intimidate or bully.
widespread plague of cyber bullying and the The Cyber-safety Act of Nova Scotia
anonymity of the internet, laws to punish cyber broadly defines cyberbullying, classifying it as:
bullies are being drafted. any electronic communication through the
However, other laws in Malaysia use of technology including, without
provide some protection from online dangers. limiting the generality of the foregoing,
Sending threatening messages could be a criminal computers, other electronic devices, social
offence under Malaysia’s Communications & networks, text messaging, instant
Multimedia Act 1998 or Section 503 of messaging, websites and electronic mail,
Malaysia’s Penal Code dealing with intimidation. typically repeated or with continuing effect,
The writer found the cyberbullying law that is intended or ought reasonably [to] be
in oregon was unresolved while there was oregon expected to cause fear, intimidation,
laws 2008 regulated the cyberbullying. Therefore, humiliation, distress or other damage or
This case was unresolved. The laws need to harm to another person's health, emotional
updated. As more is learned about the reason well-being, self-esteem or reputation,and
behind cyberbullying and the specific tactic includes assisting or encouraging such
utilized, perevention program are becoming more communication in any way.
effective. Cyberbullying” means bullying as defined
Cyberbullying occured in Missouri. This in this subsection through the transmission of a
case was the first case of sucide resulting from communication including, but not limited to, a
cyberbullying in State of America. Ini United message, text, sound, or image by means of an
States v. Lori Drew, Megan Meier was a 13-year- electronic device including, but not limited to, a
old girl who deemed cyberbullying. Lori Drew as telephone, wireless telephone, or other wireless
was charged for the death of Megan Meier as a communication device, computer, or pager
result of her participation in Cyber-Bullying 3. Method
efforts considered to be responsible for Meier’s The approach to reviewing state bullying
death. legislation began with preparation of a legislative
Background information and related historyfor each state, listing any relevant bills
research is included to provide case and historical enacted since 1999. Specifically,some states
data. Recommendations include committee approached legislation through a series of
implementations, policy, and development amendments to existing laws addressing school
Cyberbullying is easier to define through safety planning or student conduct, while others
real-life case. It occured in case of Amanda Todd introduced new statutes, or series of statutes, that
whose Facebook profile had been made in her are exclusive to combating bullying in schools in
name, featuring her exposed breasts as the main some cases.
picture. A thorough analysis of various case
Research found cyberbullyin in many studies, law cases, and news articles was
risk for suicide. In tragic case Amanda Tood, conducted to understand the issue of
Canadian federall government Rehteah Parsons cyberbullying and to find preventative measures
that should be taken for Malayasia, Indonesia,
4
and brunei darussalam.
Protecting Children from Cybercrime :
Legislative Responses in Asia to Fight Child
Pornography, Online Grooming, and
5
Cyberbullying
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These differences in legislative approach encompassment.7Under federal sentencing

influence how laws governing bullying are guidelines, Ms. Drew could face up to three years
structured within each state like Indonesia, in prison and $300,000 in fined
Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam. Altough some countries have made great
strides in the area of combatting cyber bullying,
4. Identifying the problem they are still faced with many unanswered
This latter point demonstrates one questions and significant uncertain.
interesting aspect of cyber-bullying, This is that Amanda, a British Columbia teenager,
such cybebullying law has one dimention . That was haunted and bullied by her stalker. She
ishow should cyberbullying laws be implemented discovered aFacebook profile had been made in
in every state? her name, featuring her exposed breasts as the
main picture. After posting the video in Youtube,
5. Analysis Amanda committed suicide.
When adult or tennage have been threatened 38-year-old Dutch Coban regarding
by modern and technnogy.Cyberbullying can cyberbullying Amanda Todd was sentenced to 11
occur through Instant Messages,Social Media, years by a court in the Netherlands for similar
Websites, Cell Phones, and Emails. crimes.
Victims of cyber-bullying can be bullied The effect come to Amanda Tood Case.
online at any time, day or night. Internet postings It has led the canadian lawmaker to serously
can be viewed by a vast audience and may be consider amandements expansion of legislation in
difficult to remove. an attempt to combat cyberbullying more
An anonymous Instagram account was effectively8
used to bully students at Whiteaker Middle Regulators, parents, and the courts
School in the Salem-Keizer School District and should find productive solution.
the account has removed. Haley Percell, a lawyer
for the Oregon School Boards Association said 3.1 Cyberbullying Law in Indonesia
that schools should have legal obligation to This day, there are some crimes of
respond if the bullying has made its way into the cyberbullying in Indonesia. In fact, Indonesia has
school and involve a protected class or sexual statutes to combat cyberbullying behavior.
harassment. She advised administrators Indonesia has two statutes that can be used to
throughout the state on the legal implications of prosecute instance of cyberbullying. So far
cyberbullying.6 Indonesia has been no amandement.
The police of Salem Keizr department Therefore in look for the approach
could not investigate but awered of this incident. cyberbullying in Indonesian Criminal Code Act
The oregon law did not work for this case. The we can use Article about defamation. In
oregon law needs to be updated. Indonesian Criminal Code Act, Article about
All the evidence illustrates the effect of defamation stipulated in Article 310 Paragraph 1
cyberbullying in new era especially for the youth, which are “Whoever intentionally attacked the
but many issues remain unresolved. A significant honour or good name of someone with an impute,
cyberbullying in Missouri. This case was the first which means so that it is known to the public,
case of sucide resulting from cyberbullying in was threatened with imprisonment because of
State of America In 2006, A thirteen – years- old contamination longest nine months or criminal
Megan Meier met a teenage boy named Josh fines at most four thousand five hundred
Evans on social networking website MySpace rupiahs.“
United States vs. Lori Drew, involved The interpretation of cyberbullying can
Drew and her daughter creating a false MySpace be seen in Article 310 Paragraph 2 :“If it is done
account under the alias name “Josh. these by writing or the image that is published
comments to heart and committed suicide. The demonstrate or affixed to the general advance,
Missouri district court determined that they could then threatened due to defamation written with an
not hold Drew directly accountable for the imprisonment of no longer than one year four
harassment leading to Meier’s death due to
extraneous circumstances and lack of legal 7
Richard Donegan*Bullying and
Cyberbullying:
History, Statistics, Law, Prevention and Analysis
6
https://www.opb.org/radio/programs/think-out-
8
loud/article/oregon-salem-keizer-whiteaker- Meissner 2013
middle-school-cyberbullying/ Salem-Keizer http://www.ctviews.ca/canada/amanda-todd-s-
School Administrators Respond To legacy-a-look-at-canada-s-anti-bullying-efforts-a-
Cyberbullying, year-after-her-death-1.149088.
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months or criminal fined of four thousand five consequences can be severe. The common topic
hundred rupiahs.” of bully cases in Malaysia is about the large
The context of the discussion of amount.
cyberbullying legislation this Indonesian
Information and Electronic Act Number 11/2008 Based on a national survey conducted on
can accommodate the developments. Article 27 school going childrenduring the CyberSAFE in
Paragraph 2 which reads :. “Any person Schools Programme (2013), the outcome of the
intentionally and without rights to distribute survey revealed that half of the students knew at
and/or transmitand/or make accessible electronic least oneperson being bullied online and the
information can and/or electronic document following were the most commonchannels that
whichas the charge of insult and/or defamation.“ were used for cyberbullying like Facebook,
Regarding to two legal regulation over Blogs, Short Message System, Phone Call,
Indonesia, cyberbullying has Hacking of online account, Videos, YouTube,
not been regulated explicitly, even the and email.
interpretation that there also has not been able to
accommodate the Act of cyberbullying 3.3 Cyberbullying law in Brunei Darussalam
However, indonesia needs to provide
new regulation and provision for cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is becoming a worrying
Cyberbullying can be extremely damaging to trend in Brunei as people are falling prey to
students, can disrupt an environment conducive online harassment.
to learning, and should not be tolerated in our Latest statistics obtained from the Royal
schools. Brunei Police Force showed there were 300 cases
of cyber bullying in 2012 and another 182 cases
3.2 Cyberbullying law in Malaysia in the first half of 2013 alone10
Brunei Darusallam is the first country in
A recent UNICEF report also addressed the region to establish a Child Online Protection
the issue of cyberbullying in Malaysia and noted Framework built upon the International
that a heightened awareness of the issue is Telecommunications Union – Child Online
essential. “Media reports in Malaysia suggest that Protection Initiative. You led the way in 2013,
cyberbullying isprevalent among children and when many countries were still grappling with
young people here, but much of it could be under- the situation.
reported, as few people are aware that it is a Brunei’s Penal Code Amendment Order
serious problem.”9 2012 has significantlystrengthened the country’s
legislation in relation to online child abuse and
In malaysia, Computer Crimes Act 1997 exploitation, making it among the most
in Section Three: Unauthorised access to comprehensive andup-to-date codes in the region.
computer materials. If convicted, the offender is The law now criminalizes:
liable to a fine of not more than RM50,000 or a a. possession of an indecent or obscene
prison term of not more than five years. Section photograph(or pseudo-photograph)
Four: Unauthorised access to computer materials of a child;
with the intent to commit or facilitate an offence. b. taking, distributing, showing,
If convicted, the offender is liable to a fine of not advertising, and accessing indecentor
more than RM150,000 or a prison term of not obscene photographs (or pseudo-
more than 10 years. Section Five: Unauthorised photographs);
modification to contents. If convicted, the c. sexual acts in the presence of a
offender is liable to a fine of not more than person under 16 years old
RM100,000 or a prison term of not more than d. causing a person under 16 years old
seven years. to watch a sexual act;
e. commercial sex with a person under
Communication and Multimedia Act 1 years old, both inside andoutside
Section 223: Improper use of network facilities or Brunei Darussalam; and
network services. However, The law has not been f. sexual grooming of a person under
enforced aggressively even though the 16 years old.
Brunei has ratified a number of
relevantinternational conventions, except for
9
Tee Shiao Eek, “A Big Sister Helps Students Optional Protocol to the Convention on the
Cope with Bullying,” UNICEF,
October 4, 2009,
10
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/malaysia_5 ttps://btarchive.org/news/national/2016/01/25/y
1549.html outh-cyber-bullying-worrying-trend-brunei
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 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF ASEAN PERSPECTIVE AND POLICY

Rights of the Child on a communications As a result, cyberbullying incidents

procedure and the Trafficking Protocol.11Brunei often slip through the cracks. Indeed, the
maintains reservations to certain articles of the behavior often continues and escalates because
Convention on the Rights of the Child they are not quickly addressed. Only Megan
These provisions are among the most Meier case has been resolved and suspected has
comprehensive and up-to-date in the region. been sentence in 3 years and fined
There are currently no laws addressing
cyberbullying and no law that requires Internet 7. Conclusions
service provider to report child abuse materials to Recent incidents of cyberbullying have
law enforcement agencies or other relevant demonstrated its potentially devastating effects
authorities when they learn of it on their own on students, schools, and communities and have
networks spurred a sense of urgency among State and local
educators and policymakers to take action to
6. Result combat bullyingIn response to requests for
The problem is that technology will assistance by state and local officials, educators,
inevitably and policymakers, we summarize below
continue to advance. Cyberbullying most examples of key components of state
commonly takes the form of threateningor cyberbullying laws.
aggressive messages or hateful comments One such case was formally known in
transmittedvia emails, text messages or social missiori in 2006 as United States vs. Lori Drew,
media websites. 12 involved Drew and her daughter creating a false
To reduce the amount of cyberbullying MySpace account under the alias name “Josh.
will have two challanges. Fisrt, Some people do these comments to heart and committed suicide
not recognize the harm associated with on Meier’s date. Ms. Drew could face up to three
cyberbullying. Parents, adolescent, teacher, and years in prison and $300,000 in fine.
law enforcement need to acceptt that Ultimately every state will determine
cyberbullying is one such problem that will only whether new or revised legislation and policies
get more serious if they ignored it.13 should be introduced to update, improve, or add
The other challenge relates to who is cyberbullying prevention provisions. At least, in
willing to step up and take responsibility for this context is more expansive government
responding to inappropriate use of technology. policies tend to be states with more expansive
Some parents should have the technical skills to legislation
keep up with their kids’ online behavior. law While this study focus on cyberbullying
enforcement is hesitant law to protect the child under 18 years. Currently,
to get involved unless there is clear evidence of a Indonesia, Brunei Darusslam and Malaysia do
crime or a significant threat to someone’s not have legislation dealing with cyberbullying
physical safety. and the privacy of the internet user per se.
Consequently, schools are often placed in a
position where they have to choose between their
11
UNICEF, Child protection in the learners' safety and their learners' privacy, with
digital age : National responses to online child little regard to the fundamental rights learners
sexual abuse and exploitation in ASEAN Member ought to be able to enjoy at school.
States. Strengthening Child Protection Systems 8. Suggestion
Series, No. 6 UNICEF EAPRO, Bangkok, 2016 Cyberbullying is serious problem. So it
12
CCSO (Coordinating Committee of takes some preventions. Not only parents but also
Senior Officials) Cybercrime Working Group. law enforcement officers also have a role in
Report to the federal/provincial/territorial preventing and responding to cyberbullying. As
ministers responsible for justice and public law enfforcement officer give the socialization
safety: cyberbullying and the non-consensual about cyberbullying and online safety issues more
distribution of intimate images. Ottawa broadly in an attempt to discourage them from
(ON): Minister of Justice and Attorney General of engaging in risky or unacceptable actions and
Canada; 2013. Available: www interactions for some school.
.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/other-autre/cndii- Regardless, new criminal and civil laws
cdncii/pdf/cndii-cdncii-eng.pdf (accessed alone will not suffice to deal with less severe but
2014 Feb. 27) much more common forms of cyberbullying and
13 their impact on the well-being of youth.
Sameer Hinduja, Ph.D. and Justin W.
New cyberbullying legislation brought
Patchin, Ph.D. Cyberbullying Identification,
forward in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei
Prevention, and Response, Cyberbullying
Research Center
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 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF ASEAN PERSPECTIVE AND POLICY

Darusslaam has focused on strengthening the of Jurisdiction in Indonesia,” Int. J.

roles and responsibilities of schools. Humanit. Soc. Stud., vol. 5, no. 12, pp. 209–
This is the best challenge for Indonesian, 214, 2017.
Malaysia, and Brunei Darussalams law makers [10] Laws to tackle cyber bullying being drafted
and school governing bodies are confronted with in Malaysia www.scmp.com/tech/article/
today. 2068707/laws-cyber-bullying-being-drafted-
Countries such as Canada, the United States malaysia
of America, Missouri, and Oregon have indeed [11] State Cyberbullying Laws : A Brief Review
had more extensive experience with the issue of of State
balancing the rights of parties when it comes to [12] Cyberbullying Laws and PolicieMissouri
dealing with cyberbullying. They have developed Revised Statutes
fairly comprehensive legislation with regards to [13 Patchin, Justin W. Ph.D and Sameer
cyberbullying and have a far greater volume of Hinduja, Ph.D. Cyberbullying Identification,
case law on the issue of cyberbullying than Prevention, and Response, Cyberbullying
Indonesia, malaysia, and Brunei Research Center
Darusaalam.Therefore we suggest that we should [14] Meissner,http://www.ctviews.ca/canada/
look towards the action these countries have amanda-todd-s-legacy-a-look-at-canada-s-
taken in the fight against cyberbullying and learn antibullying-efforts-a-year-after-her-death-
from them. 1.149088.

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