TikTok Indonesia Responds to the New Rules Prohibiting Selling via Social E-Commerce

September 25, 2023, 10.05 PM  | Reporter: Sabrina Rhamadanty
TikTok Indonesia Responds to the New Rules Prohibiting Selling via Social E-Commerce

ILUSTRASI. Russia, Kazan May 28 2019: Tik Tok application icon on Apple iPhone X screen close-up. Tik Tok icon. tik tok application. Tiktok Social media network


TIKTOK - JAKARTA. Tiktok Indonesia has spoken up about the government's decision to sign the Revision of the Minister of Trade Regulation (Permendag) Number 50 of 2020 concerning Business Licensing Provisions, Advertising, Guidance, and Supervision of Business Actors in Trade Through Electronic Systems.

“Since it was announced today, we have received many complaints from local sellers asking for clarity on the new regulation,” revealed Head of Communication TikTok Indonesia Anggini Setiawan when contacted by Kontan, on Monday (25/09).

TikTok Indonesia, she firmly reminded us, that social commerce was born as a solution to the real problems faced by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to help producers collaborate with local creators to increase traffic to online stores.

Read Also: Indonesia Bans TikTok from Doing Social Media and E-Commerce Business Simultaneously

“We will continue to respect the laws and regulations in force in Indonesia, but we also hope that the government will consider the impact on the livelihoods of 6 million local sellers and nearly 7 million affiliate creators who use TikTok Shop,” she explained.

For information, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) held a limited meeting with several Ministers of the Indonesia Onward Cabinet discussing electronic commerce on Monday, September 25, 2023, at the Merdeka Palace Jakarta.

In the meeting, the government decided to sign the Revision of the Minister of Trade Regulation (Permendag) Number 50 of 2020 concerning Business Licensing Provisions, Advertising, Guidance, and Supervision of Business Actors in Trade Through Electronic Systems.

"It has been decided today, this afternoon I have signed the revision of Permendag 50/2020," said Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan quoting from the press release of the Presidential Secretariat, Monday (25/09).

Read Also: TikTok Records Sales of IDR 107 Billion Through Live Shopping

Zulhas explained that in the new Permendag, several provisions related to electronic commerce will be regulated. One of them, the government only allows social media to be used to facilitate promotion, not for transactions.

"Social commerce can only facilitate the promotion of goods or services, not direct transactions, direct payments are no longer allowed, it can only be for promotion. So it's like a digital platform. So its task is to promote," said Zulhas.

In addition, the government will also prohibit social media from doubling as e-commerce. This is done by the government to prevent misuse of community data.

"So that its algorithm is not all controlled and this prevents the use of personal data for business purposes," he added.

In addition to Tiktok, its social e-commerce platform, Tiktok Shop, one of the marketplaces in Indonesia, Tokopedia also commented on this revision.

“For now, we are still studying and continue to coordinate with internal parties, the government, and various parties related to the regulation, as well as its impact on Tokopedia's business,” said Hilmi Adrianto, as Deputy Director of Public Policy and Government Relations Tokopedia.

On the other hand, he emphasized that Tokopedia is a 100% domestic marketplace that does not allow direct imports (cross-border) within the platform.

“Sellers on Tokopedia–which now number more than 14 million and almost 100% of these SMEs–100% are located or domiciled in Indonesia,” he concluded.

Editor: Syamsul Azhar
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