Chinese short video app, TikTok has decided to halt e-commerce transactions in Indonesia starting Wednesday, 3rd October, following the country’s ban on e-commerce transactions on social media.
The ByteDance-owned social media platform added in a statement that it had every intention of complying with the regulation, and would coordinate with Indonesia’s government regarding its future plans.
“Our priority is to remain compliant with local laws and regulations. As such, we will no longer facilitate e-commerce transactions in TikTok Shop Indonesia,” the company said.
It was unclear from the statement whether TikTok intends to create a new e-commerce app, separate from its social media app.
Indonesia announced its ban on social media e-commerce transactions last Wednesday, with the government saying it wanted to protect offline businesses from predatory social media pricing.
The regulation affected many major social media platforms, especially TikTok, which has 125 million active monthly users in Indonesia. The company has already stated that it was “deeply concerned” about the ban, and “how it would impact the livelihoods of the 6 million” local sellers active on TikTok Shop.
TikTok’s decision to halt e-commerce transactions is in line with the government’s grace period to comply with the new rule at one week, to avoid the threat of closure.