REFORMULATION OF THE LEGAL PROTECTION FRAMEWORK FOR EDUCATORS IN THE SMART TECHNOLOGY-BASED LEARNING ECOSYSTEM TO ACHIEVE LEGAL CERTAINTY IN INDONESIA

The digital transformation of education presents a fundamental paradox: while smart technologies such as artificial intelligence and digital learning platforms promise improved educational quality, they simultaneously generate legal vulnerabilities for teachers whose personal data and intellectual property are inadequately protected. Indonesia, with over 50 million students, approximately 4 million teachers, and 250,000 schools, faces significant regulatory challenges due to the absence of a specific legal framework governing teacher data protection within smart learning ecosystems. This study employs a normative legal analysis to identify gaps between das sein and das sollen across four key legal instruments: Law No. 14/2005, Law No. 27/2022 on Personal Data Protection, PP TUNAS No. 17/2025, and related regulations. By integrating Radbruch’s legal certainty theory and Nonet–Selznick’s responsive law framework, alongside comparative analysis of international standards from UNESCO, the OECD, and the EU AI Act, the study identifies seven critical regulatory deficiencies, including unclear definitions of teacher personal data, absence of digital IP protections, weak consent mechanisms, and ineffective enforcement. Root cause analysis reveals systemic issues such as regulatory lag, policy fragmentation, regulatory capture, enforcement limitations, and power asymmetry in employment relations. The study proposes a sequenced regulatory reform strategy through co-regulation, executive action, and phased legislative reform, beginning with the establishment of a Digital Education Regulatory Council and a Presidential Regulation on teacher data protection.