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Meta, YouTube, TikTok want e-commerce licenses. Why?
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Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan speaks during a press conference in Jakarta on Sept. 27, 2023, about a ban on e-commerce transactions on social media platforms. (AFP/Aditya Aji)
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ocial media platforms reportedly keen to engage in e-commerce in Indonesia, despite the government recently restricting social commerce, will need to go through several regulatory hoops according to business analysts.
Since the implementation of Trade Ministry Regulation No. 31/2023 a month ago with the stated goal of promoting “fair and just” competition, social media companies have made no visible changes to their platforms to expand into social commerce.
However, media and research reports have sparked speculation about TikTok looking to relaunch its TikTok Shop in the country after the forced shutdown of the e-commerce service on Oct 4.
The platform has made no announcement of such a move, and the Financial Times described the situation surrounding the Chinese firm’s business plans in Indonesia as “fluid” in an article published on Friday.
Beijing-based ByteDance, owner of the popular TikTok video-sharing app, has put together product and technology teams in Singapore to discuss ideas after Jakarta imposed the ban, according to the FT report.
A source told the paper that the social media firm was not actively working on a separate app at the moment but was “exploring all available options”.
Meanwhile Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube, was seeking an e-commerce license in Indonesia, Reuters reported, without specifying any details of the license sought.
