2026-08-24 · 18 sources cited · all articles
Law No. 8 of 2016 concerning Persons with Disabilities establishes broad statutory mandates for equal access across public services, yet its application to digital spaces encounters significant regulatory friction. While official commitments recognize that digital accessibility enables persons with disabilities to utilize e-commerce, digital wallets, and money management platforms for economic inclusion [9], the statutory framework lacks explicit technical directives for domestic e-commerce platforms [15].
Normative legal analyses indicate that there is currently no legislation specifically regulating consumer protection and accessibility for persons with disabilities within the online trading sector [15]. Although regulatory bodies such as Kominfo have initiated reference to international standards like ISO 400500 and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) for specific digital public services [12], domestic e-commerce marketplaces operate without unified, legally binding technical compliance metrics. Consequently, consumer complaint services across marketplace applications vary widely, with most relying on text-based FAQs rather than accessible hotlines that directly assist visually impaired users during transactions [15]. This structural void creates a sharp conflict between the macro-level legal guarantee of equal access under Law No. 8 of 2016 and the micro-level absence of enforceable digital oversight standards [15].
Compliance audits for digital platforms face a fundamental friction when authorities rely on high-level frameworks while UX architects navigate the technical debt of legacy systems. Although the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology has initiated draft regulations referencing international benchmarks like ISO 400500 and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) [12], domestic e-commerce platforms operate without a unified, legally mandated technical compliance metric tied directly to Law No. 8 of 2016. As noted by the Indonesian Consumer Protection Agency (BPKN), the rapid surge in e-commerce utilization has outpaced the government's preparedness in enforcing accessible digital infrastructures for consumers with disabilities [11].
This creates a distinct operational clash. UX engineering and front-end development require strict adherence to WCAG principles—such as text alternatives, keyboard navigability, and robust screen reader compatibility [8]—yet enforcement mechanisms remain largely absent. Consequently, current evaluation methods fail to systematically verify whether assistive technologies genuinely function during live e-commerce transactions, such as checkout flows and payment gateways. While international frameworks outline compliance levels ranging from basic Level A to specialized Level AAA [8], domestic implementation is hindered by a lack of rigorous, localized audit protocols. Independent assessments by consumer watchdogs reveal that accessibility is frequently treated as an afterthought rather than an enforceable baseline, leaving digital banking, e-commerce platforms, and digital wallets to bridge the gap through fragmented voluntary measures rather than standardized technical verification [9, 11].
Disability rights advocates demand comprehensive compliance under Law No. 8 of 2016 to guarantee digital inclusion across all public and private services. However, platform architects and domestic e-commerce operators face strict engineering timelines constrained by legacy codebases and resource limitations [7, 8]. In the absence of standardized technical benchmarks or explicit government mandates detailing how digital platforms must implement accessibility features, domestic marketplace operators maintain fragmented customer care systems—relying primarily on text-based FAQs rather than dedicated hotlines that would assist visually impaired users [15].
This regulatory vacuum places a heavy financial and operational burden on domestic e-commerce operators, who must guess at compliance thresholds without unified frameworks like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) officially enforced across the sector [8, 12, 15]. While government bodies such as the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology have initiated reference to ISO 400500 and WCAG standards for digital public services, comprehensive technical requirements for commercial e-commerce applications remain absent from statutory enforcement [12, 15].
The missing link between regulatory expectations and technical feasibility lies in the friction between legal mandates and software engineering realities. Without explicit technical guidelines, retrofitting legacy e-commerce platforms to support screen readers, keyboard navigation, and accessible payment gateway interfaces involves significant engineering overhead and unpredictable capital costs [8, 15]. Consequently, compliance stalls because platform architects lack clear compliance metrics, while advocates continue to push for enforceable digital accessibility standards [7, 8, 15].
The enforcement of Law No. 8 of 2016 on Persons with Disabilities within the domestic e-commerce sector faces a profound structural impasse, characterized by sharp disagreements among compliance auditors, UX architects, and disability advocates. Compliance auditors and legal analysts note a fundamental regulatory vacuum: normative legal studies confirm that there is currently no specific legislation that explicitly regulates consumer protection and accessibility standards for persons with disabilities in the online trading sector [15]. While agencies like Kominfo have initiated preliminary frameworks for digital public services referencing international standards such as ISO 400500 and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) [12], enforceable technical mandates for commercial e-commerce marketplaces remain absent.
This regulatory ambiguity fuels an ongoing standoff regarding interface modifications. UX architects and tech platforms often default to superficial cosmetic adjustments—such as basic color contrast tweaks or automated FAQs—while treating comprehensive structural accessibility as an optional enhancement. However, disability advocates argue that such aesthetic modifications bypass core architectural requirements, failing to implement essential assistive technologies like screen reader compatibility and accessible telephone hotlines for visually impaired consumers [15]. Marketplace customer care services frequently rely exclusively on text-based FAQs rather than direct hotlines, directly disadvantaging users who require immediate verbal assistance [15].
Ultimately, this fragmentation leaves users without verifiable legal recourse or enforceable technical guarantees. Because digital accessibility commitments under initiatives like Open Government Partnership (ID0141) emphasize economic inclusion in e-commerce and digital wallets [9], the absence of binding technical metrics creates a systemic barrier. Without harmonized enforcement between statutory mandates and digital engineering practices, compliance remains voluntary, shifting the burden of access failures back onto consumers with disabilities.
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