Indonesia as a democratic country guarantees the freedom for its citizens to express opinions. This is as stated in Article 28 E of the 1945 Constitution which states that everyone has the right to freedom of association, assembly and expression. The order of laws and regulations in force in Indonesia must be in line with the mandate of the constitution. However, since the enactment of Law Number 11 of 2008 as amended by Law Number 19 of 2016 concerning Electronic Information and Transactions (hereinafter referred to as ITE Law), the public feels that there are restrictions in expressing opinions. The use of social media is increasing. Opinions and criticisms are also widely conveyed through social media. Many criticisms / opinions are then categorized as hate speech, even insults. These elements are elements of offenses in the ITE Law which result in the perpetrators being subject to criminal sanctions. This study will examine the criminalization of the act of submitting criticism to the government based on the ITE Law and the protection of the right to freedom of expression in a democratic country. This research uses normative juridical research methods, namely research on principles, legal principles and the rule of law. The data used, obtained through literature study. The ITE Law is a law that aims to create conduciveness for public interaction in the cyber space, so it should not reach out / criminalize all forms of electronic information that are critical of the government. It is still necessary to limit the submission of criticism through the internet media, where the criticism must not contain insults and hate speech. In order to create an ideal democratic atmosphere, it is necessary to protect and limit rights in a balanced way.