Constitutionalizing Digital Sovereignty: State Control Over Data Infrastructure and Its Implications for Fundamental Rights

Abstract

The digital transformation of global society has fundamentally reshaped the intersection between state authority, technological infrastructure, and individual rights. Historically conceptualized through physical land borders and territorial jurisdiction, state sovereignty is increasingly projected into cyberspace as governments seek to reassert control over data flows, physical network architecture, and digital service providers. This research paper examines the constitutionalization of digital sovereignty, critically analyzing how state control over data infrastructure impacts fundamental human rights. Utilizing a qualitative normative-legal research methodology integrated with comparative constitutional law analysis, the study addresses two core discussion themes: first, the theoretical, doctrinal, and infrastructural foundations of digital sovereignty, evaluating how states deploy data localization mandates, national domain filtering, and sovereign cloud initiatives to resist foreign platform dominance and digital colonialism; and second, the severe human rights implications of state-centric data infrastructure control, focusing on constitutional threats to privacy and freedom of expression. By examining empirical regulatory frameworks—most notably Indonesia's Ministerial Regulation No. 5/2020 on Private Electronic System Operators alongside broader international practices—this article illustrates how broad administrative take-down powers, mandatory backend access, and infrastructure blocking undermine democratic checks and balances. Ultimately, the paper argues for the imperative of digital constitutionalism, a normative framework that subjects state infrastructure control to strict judicial oversight, procedural due process, and the constitutional principle of proportionality.