Digital environmental activism and the challenges of criminalization: a case study of Daniel Frits in the Karimunjawa issue

The case of Daniel Frits, who spoke out about the condition of Karimunjawa, highlights the vulnerability of the digital environmental movement to criminalization. The numerous environmental movements facing issues with the ITE Law illustrate that this regulation protects the government and the private sector against criticism and public demands regarding environmental damage. This article explains how identity formation, resistance to domination, alternative communication, and challenges to norms and policies manifest in the case of Daniel Frits versus the ITE Law. This research employs qualitative methods, using counter-public theory as the primary concept. Primary data was collected through interviews with Karimunjawa activists and WALHI Central Java. Secondary data was obtained from official documents related to the Daniel Frits case. The research results indicate that the identity of an 'environmental activist' remains fragile, making many actors involved in digital environmental activism susceptible to intimidation and criminalization. Resistance in environmental activism is demonstrated through a series of rebellions and the pursuit of social change within social media spaces. However, this also renders environmental activists highly vulnerable to surveillance and arrest by authorities.