26-9-2023 (JAKARTA) Indonesia is expected to introduce a new regulation concerning the use of social media for selling goods. President Joko Widodo is leading this effort to address the perceived threat posed to the country’s offline markets by e-commerce sellers employing predatory pricing on social media platforms. Video-sharing platform TikTok has been specifically cited as an example in this regard.
In a video address on Monday, President Widodo, commonly known as Jokowi, stated that they have made a decision regarding the use of social media for e-commerce and expected the regulation to be released soon. The President emphasized that the public’s expectation is for technological advancements to create new economic potential rather than undermining existing economies.
While no specific companies were mentioned, the President did not provide further details on the upcoming regulation, which is currently being formulated by the trade ministry. The current trade regulations do not specifically address direct transactions on social media.
Deputy Trade Minister Jerry Sambuaga previously stated that “social media and social commerce cannot be combined,” and expressed the intention to prohibit their combination, citing TikTok’s “live” features that enable people to sell goods.
The Indonesian branch of TikTok, owned by Chinese tech firm ByteDance, declined to provide a comment. TikTok reported having 325 million active users in Southeast Asia, including 125 million in Indonesia, with 2 million small businesses operating on TikTok Shop in Indonesia.
