"TikTok's existence in many countries has become a prolonged problem. More than 10 countries have implemented partial restrictions. For political (and) security reasons, civil servants in the United States had been prohibited from using the application," he said in Jakarta on Friday.
The Indian government has also completely banned TikTok, while China has also banned 58 digital applications for political reasons, Masduki added
The Indonesian government has prohibited the operation of TikTok Shop with social media TikTok to protect people's personal data, prevent platform monopoly, and protect micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
According to him, TikTok Shop, which only has a representative office, should not be allowed to operate because that would violate the prevailing rules.Therefore, it is understandable for ASEAN countries to evaluate TikTok's business model, especially to protect their own interests.
"It is normal that ASEAN countries are also evaluating the TikTok business model for their domestic economic and political interests," the minister emphasized.
He said that some countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia are starting to investigate TikTok's business, both its social media platform and TikTok Shop. This has also been reported in The Straits Times and Manila Standard.
The two media outlets said that the Philippines government has formed a task force to investigate further allegations of data misuse and spying. If the task force finds these indications to be true, the Philippines will completely block the Chinese social media platform.
In fact, Singaporean daily The Straits Times has reported on speculations that the Vietnamese government has found illegal information on TikTok's servers. In terms of content, the Vietnamese government considers the platform dangerous for children.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Minister of Communications and Digital, Fahmi Fadzil, has shared evidence showing the Chinese social media platform has systematically removed Malaysian content related to the Palestine-Israel conflict.
According to Masduki, President Joko Widodo has already given directions to the cabinet, including concerns regarding the security of personal data that can be used by the platform.
"The President has ordered the Minister of Communication and Information to regulate platforms for the sake of protecting personal, industrial, MSME, and consumer data," he said.
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Translator: Kuntum Khaira R, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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