Deepfake sebagai Kejahatan Siber Kontemporer: Kajian Yuridis Normatif atas Kelemahan Konstruksi Hukum Pidana Indonesia dan Urgensi Reformasi Legislatif

Abstract

The rapid proliferation of deepfake technology poses unprecedented threats to Indonesia's criminal justice system, particularly in light of the new Criminal Code (KUHP) enacted through Law No. 1 of 2023, which came into force on 2 January 2026. This normative juridical study examines two interrelated questions: (1) what specific characteristics distinguish deepfake crimes from other forms of cybercrime, thereby requiring a specialised criminal law approach  and (2) whether the normative constructions of the old and new Criminal Codes are adequate to address deepfake crimes, and if not, how such gaps should be resolved. Employing doctrinal legal analysis through grammatical, systematic, and teleological interpretation of primary legal materials, this study identifies critical normative deficiencies in both instruments. The old Criminal Code suffers from definitional limitations, a technological gap, and the absence of specific biometric manipulation regulations. While the new Criminal Code demonstrates significant progress expanding forgery to include electronic documents (Articles 252-253), regulating digital privacy violations (Articles 418-420), and criminalising non-consensual pornographic content (Articles 412-413) critical gaps persist: the absence of an explicit deepfake definition, ambiguity in classifying deepfake media as electronic documents, unclear biometric manipulation norms, and mens rea constructions inadequate for autonomous AI systems. The study recommends explicit legislative amendments with technology-neutral yet precise language, technical evidentiary guidelines for digital forensics, institutional capacity-building, comprehensive victim protection mechanisms, and digital literacy campaigns. Future research should empirically examine judicial application of these norms and test their effectiveness in Indonesian legal practice.