Indonesia Bans E-Commerce On Social Media In Major Blow To TikTok: Report

Indonesia has reportedly implemented a new measure prohibiting e-commerce activities on social media channels.

The move is perceived as a strategic effort to shield traditional merchants and markets in Southeast Asia's primary economic hub from the pressures of online sales.

The move is seen as a blow to short video app TikTok, which is doubling down on Southeast Asia's biggest economy to boost its e-commerce business, reported Reuters.

The report specified that the move comes just three months after TikTok pledged to invest billions of dollars in Southeast Asia, mainly in Indonesia, in a major push to build its e-commerce platform TikTok Shop over the next few years.

The report quoted Indonesia Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan, saying that the regulation is intended to ensure "fair and just" business competition and user data protection.

This decision stems from earlier comments by Indonesia Deputy Trade Minister Jerry Sambuaga earlier this month, who named TikTok's live streaming features as an example of people selling goods on social media.

Meanwhile, TikTok Indonesia, stressing on the pivotal role of their app in the livelihoods of over six million local vendors through TikTok Shop, has urged the government to take this vast community into account.

The popular app, owned by ByteDance, has 125 million active monthly users in Indonesia, the report added.

This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Photo Via Olivier Bergeron Unsplash