Telkom Indonesia

Telkom Indonesia’s i-CHAT (I Can Hear and Talk) application assists people with hearing impairment – especially children – to use computers to learn sign language and lip-reading.

Telkom Indonesia supports skills development through subsidiary Telkomsel’s IndonesiaNEXT initiative, a certification programme that teaches participants advanced Microsoft Office and Adobe techniques as well as social media content creation.

Telkom Indonesia supports child online safety through Telkomsel’s #InternetBAIK workshop programme. The programme teaches young children, adolescents, parents and teachers how to use the internet safely and responsibly.

Telkom Indonesia supports the tech innovation ecosystem through its venture capital fund and a start-up incubator. It also sponsors NextDev, a competition for early-stage digital start-ups, focused on social impact in Indonesia.

The company should disclose how it supports universal and affordable access to digital technologies for vulnerable groups, contributes to digital opportunities for women and girls, and distributes its economic value created. It could also elaborate on other steps it takes to accommodate the needs of users with disabilities.

Telkom Indonesia could expand its disclosure on skills development programmes by reporting its contributions and the number of beneficiaries. Given the company’s wide reach throughout Indonesia, it could consider supporting school connectivity in under-resourced locations.

While Telkom Indonesia reported more than 350 million cyber threats in 2019, it discloses little about how it responds to them. It should disclose how it ensures high-level responsibility for cybersecurity and the steps it takes to monitor and respond to security incidents. The privacy policy of subsidiary Telkomsel touches on the issues of data sharing. However, the company could be more transparent about what user information it shares with third parties, and whether users can obtain a copy of the information the company holds about them. It could also enhance transparency by reporting the number of data breaches that occur and government requests for personal information. Given the company’s wide impact throughout Indonesia, it should demonstrate a high-level commitment to child online safety.

Telkom Indonesia supports technology innovation ecosystems through its venture capital investments and start-up incubators. However, the company could better demonstrate how it supports open innovation, contributes to research relevant to sustainable development, and ensures that its research and development is inclusive and ethical.