Intelligence Surveillance, Counterterrorism, and the Right to Privacy in Indonesia and Canada

Abstract

This paper examines the regulation of intelligence surveillance technologies in Indonesia and Canada within the framework of counterterrorism law, focusing on how legal regimes seek to protect public security while safeguarding fundamental rights, particularly the right to privacy. Using a comparative legal approach, the article addresses three interrelated questions: how surveillance powers are regulated in each jurisdiction; what legal and institutional safeguards exist to supervise and constrain their use; and to what extent these regimes comply with international human rights standards governing communications surveillance and personal data collection. The study finds that although neither the Indonesian nor the Canadian Constitution explicitly enshrines the right to privacy, both legal systems incorporate privacy protection as an integral component of their counterterrorism frameworks. Significant differences nevertheless emerge in how security and rights are balanced. Indonesia’s counterterrorism regime, primarily governed by its Anti-Terrorism Act, emphasizes preventive security and grants broad surveillance powers with limited statutory guidance on proportionality and excessiveness. Canada regulates surveillance mainly through its Criminal Code, embedding prior judicial authorization and post-facto review as mechanisms intended to align security measures with rights protection. When assessed against international human rights principles of legality, necessity, proportionality, and effective oversight, the article concludes that Canada’s framework demonstrates a higher degree of formal compliance, while Indonesia’s regime presents greater risks of disproportionate interference with privacy.