The Future of Arbitration for Personal Data Disputes in Indonesia: Weighing the Benefits and Challenges

Law No. 27 of 2022 on Personal Data Protection (“PDP Law”) states that any personal data protection dispute can be settled through court, arbitration or any other form of alternative dispute resolution. Due to the recent issuance of the PDP Law, dispute resolution in the field of personal data is still a new area in Indonesia, especially arbitration. This paper seeks to discover the possibility of implementing arbitration for personal data breach disputes in Indonesia, by examining the benefits and challenges in place. Conducted using a normative legal research method, this research shows that arbitration offers many benefits which suit the specific features of data disputes, however, may face many challenges in the implementation. Flexibility, time and cost efficiency, confidentiality, expertise, and also the ability to cater cross border cases, are its benefits. However, there are some challenges in the implementation, for instance, the mass number of claimants, absence of implementing regulations and precedents, cost and procedural barriers for individual data subjects. To resolve these practical issues, the government can establish a specific sectoral arbitration board, which specifically resolves personal data-related disputes and has procedures tailored to meet the specific needs of data disputes. Hence, a more streamlined, less costly and accessible dispute resolution can be established.