TikTok’s time is ticking, and a ban on selling in Indonesia could set it back

JAKARTA – Indonesia this week joined Australia, India and the United States in taking a firm stand against TikTok, dealing a massive blow to the video-sharing platform by banning it from facilitating e-commerce sales by third parties.

Indonesia’s move comes after India banned the platform in 2020 as part of the crackdown on Chinese-owned apps that it claimed were secretly transmitting users’ data to servers outside India. Indonesia was one of the first few countries where TikTok Shop was launched outside of China, and observers have said that it was meant to be a blueprint for the platform to expand to other online shopping markets.

Before this, the relationship between TikTok and Indonesia was flourishing. Chief executive Chew Shou Zi attended a large-scale forum held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in central Jakarta in June, where he, as well as Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan, gave speeches.

“The government will likely continue to negotiate with not just TikTok but also other social media platforms to make sure that its regulations are implementable and fair,” said Dr Siwage, who is also co-coordinator of the institute’s Indonesia Studies Programme. They pointed out that such practices by companies like TikTok, Shopee and Meta adversely affect micro, small and medium enterprises.

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