Any government would protect local small businesses, he said, saying the regulation was passed to ensure equality in business competition.
Indonesia has banned goods transactions on social media platforms in a new regulation, its trade minister said Wednesday, as Jakarta aims to rein in direct sales on major platforms it says are harming millions of small businesses.
“This trade regulation has been in force ,” Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan told a news conference in the capital Jakarta.“Any government would protect local small businesses,” he said, saying the regulation was passed to ensure “equality in business competition.” “Social commerce can place ads like TV, but it mustn’t be transactional. can’t open shop, can’t directly sell,” he said, without mentioning TikTok by name.
The new regulation is yet another setback for TikTok, which has faced intense scrutiny in the United States and other nations in recent months over users’ data security and the company’s alleged ties to Beijing.Indonesia is one of the world’s biggest markets for TikTok Shop and was the first to pilot the app’s e-commerce arm.