<![CDATA[This study provides a legal analysis of restorative justice as a mechanism to better safeguard press freedom from potential criminalization in Indonesia. The main issue examined is the growing use of retributive criminal law against journalistic activities, which threatens the democratic role of the press. This research uses a normative legal method with statutory and conceptual approaches. The findings show that penal mediation, as a form of restorative justice, offers an integrative model for resolving news-related disputes while maintaining the public’s right to information. The application of the ultimum remedium principle through technical law-enforcement regulations can reduce the harmful impact of defamation provisions in the ITE Law on journalists. Restorative justice therefore becomes an urgent legal necessity to balance protection of journalists’ dignity with the press’s social control function. This study recommends regulatory harmonization by recognizing Press Council mediation outcomes as grounds for case dismissal in Indonesia’s criminal justice system.]]>
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