It (TikTok Shop) has sent me a letter stating its willingness to abide by the government's regulations and decisions.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan revealed that social media platform TikTok has agreed to abide by the newly enacted Trade Minister's Regulation No.31 of 2023, which bans economic transactions on social media platforms.

TikTok has created TikTok Shop as a social commerce platform that combines the features and functions of social media and e-commerce platforms. The shopping platform has been gaining popularity in Indonesia.

"It (TikTok Shop) has sent me a letter stating its willingness to abide by the government's regulations and decisions," Hasan said after visiting merchants at the Cililitan Wholesale Center, Jakarta, on Tuesday.

However, currently, people can still access TikTok Shop's services and features to conduct trade activities, the minister informed, adding that the Chinese online platform has been given time to conform to the regulation.

Minister Hasan affirmed that the government will eventually impose sanctions on the platform if it fails to abide by the regulation.

Related news: Minister visits Tanah Abang Market following social commerce ban

To continue to operate in Indonesia, TikTok will need to choose whether it will function as a social media platform or as an e-commerce platform, he said.

"It can simply apply (for a permit) to operate as an e-commerce platform, but it should not incorporate the services of social media platforms," he elaborated.

The newly issued regulation, which revises the Trade Minister's Regulation No.50 of 2020 that governs trade activities on electronic systems, outlines several provisions, including the one regarding the separation of the features and functions of social media and e-commerce platforms.

Furthermore, through the regulation, the government will issue a "positive list," which will determine the foreign products that can enter Indonesian markets through e-commerce platforms.

The regulation will also serve as the government's instrument for stipulating a set of requirements that will need to be fulfilled by foreign merchants to trade in Indonesian digital marketplaces, including the need to conform with the Indonesian National Standard (SNI) and halal product standards.

In addition, the regulation bans digital marketplaces from functioning as producers and seeks to prevent the data of their users from being misused.

Related news: TikTok Shop faces closure in Indonesia without e-commerce permit

Related news: Social commerce harms MSMEs, conventional markets: President

Translator: Maria C, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
Copyright © ANTARA 2023