Hello there. It’s Brady.
We’ve seen the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, and Sundar Pichai be grilled by members of the United States Congress repeatedly. As leaders of major tech companies, that’s part of the job description.
A similar scene played out in Jakarta this week, with leading figures of Tokopedia, Bukalapak, and Shopee Indonesia answering queries during a parliamentary hearing for the first time.
Tokopedia’s CEO, William Tanuwijaya, had to defend his company’s merger with Gojek against observations that GoTo looks a bit like a monopoly. There were questions about e-commerce and the integrity of Indonesia’s business landscape, as well as discussions about the security of user data.
Here’s what Tanuwijaya said about Tokopedia’s leak of up to 91 million users’ data last year: “[Data breach] incidents will continue to happen in the future, so it is very important for parliament to make clear and firm regulations to prevent criminals from doing this again.”
Sure, yes, it’s good to have punitive measures for crimes that harm other people, but the logic here seems flawed. Hackers who steal data know they risk facing serious consequences if they’re caught. Regulations, no matter how clear and firm, aren’t what deter cyberattacks. But better security might! That’s what companies in Indonesia need more than anything else. Unfortunately, we’re seeing little progress on this front.
Anyway, Khamila had the story. Check it out here.
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