The Right to Erasure in Indonesian Law: Reconstructing Data Subject Protection in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

: The increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) creates new challenges for exercising the right to erasure, particularly when personal information is incorporated into trained models and cannot readily be removed through conventional data-deletion procedures. This study examines the adequacy of Indonesia’s personal data protection framework in addressing these challenges and develops a conceptual model for reconstructing data subject protection in AI-based processing environments. The study employs normative legal research using statutory, conceptual, and comparative approaches. Legal materials are collected through library research and analyzed qualitatively through legal interpretation and normative evaluation, with particular attention to Indonesia’s Law No. 27 of 2022 concerning Personal Data Protection and Article 17 of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation. The findings indicate that Indonesian law provides a statutory foundation for erasure rights, but questions remain regarding their implementation in AI systems, the allocation of responsibility among relevant actors, and the verification of compliance. The comparative analysis further demonstrates the importance of clarifying erasure grounds, applicable exceptions, and the relationship between legal obligations and technical measures such as machine unlearning. This study proposes a conceptual model comprising five components: statutory foundation, legal assessment, implementation of erasure, verification and accountability, and rights-based safeguards. The model contributes a normative framework for connecting data subjects’ legal entitlements with appropriate implementation measures and demonstrable compliance while maintaining a proportionate balance between privacy protection and legitimate competing interests. The study provides a basis for further legal and regulatory development concerning personal data protection in Indonesia’s evolving AI governance landscape.