Indonesia mulls banning social media merchandise sales, TikTok expresses concern

Indonesia is contemplating prohibitive measures against merchandise transactions conducted via social media platforms such as TikTok as stated by the deputy trade minister during a parliamentary hearing recently. The move is aimed at e-commerce vendors who employ predatory pricing strategies on social platforms, thereby jeopardising traditional marketplaces in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

Social media and social commerce cannot be combined, declared Jerry Sambuaga, the deputy trade minister, citing instances of vendors utilising live functionalities on social media platforms such as TikTok for product sales. Revisions to the trade regulations that are currently underway will firmly and explicitly ban this, he added.

In response, TikTok has expressed its concerns, stating that bifurcating social media and e-commerce could potentially stifle…