TIKTOK TO STOP E-COMMERCE TRANSACTIONS IN INDONESIA FOLLOWING BAN

Wed 04 October 2023:

A blow to TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, the Indonesian trade minister announced on Wednesday (Oct. 4) that the country has outlawed e-commerce transactions on social media platforms.

The announcement could undermine TikTok’s strategy to develop its e-commerce company by focusing more on Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

According to the government, which takes effect immediately, is intended to protect offline retailers and marketplaces. The government also claimed that small and medium-sized enterprises have been impacted by predatory pricing on social media sites.

Recently, President Joko Widodo called for social media regulations and also noted that the market has been flooded with foreign imports, and the influx of such platforms has contributed to a sales fall for domestic enterprises.

A TikTok Indonesia spokesperson said it would pursue a constructive path forward and was “deeply concerned” with the announcement, “particularly how it would impact the livelihoods of the 6 million” local sellers active on TikTok Shop.

The final decision comes after the Ministry of Trade set a one-week deadline for TikTok to become a standalone app with no e-commerce features or risk being shut down.

In a statement, TikTok said on Tuesday: “Our priority is to remain compliant with local laws and regulations. As such, we will no longer facilitate e-commerce transactions in TikTok Shop Indonesia by 17:00 GMT+7, October 4, and will continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities on the path forward.”

Last week, the Indonesian government outlawed e-commerce transactions on social media platforms like TikTok and Facebook.

In Indonesia, TikTok has 125 million active monthly users.

Indonesia Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan on Wednesday told reporters that the regulation is intended to ensure “fair and just” business competition, adding that it was also intended to ensure data protection of users.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

______________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent