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Indonesia warns 6 foreign OTAs to register or risk being blocked
The government has sent warning notices to six foreign online travel agents (OTAs) to register their businesses by March 13 or face potential sanctions, although according to the IHRA, these same firms had missed their initial deadline last month.
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The logo of homestay marketplace Airbnb is displayed on a tablet in this photo illustration taken on Nov. 22, 2019 in Paris. (AFP/Lionel Bonaventure)
T
he Communications and Information Ministry has given six unregistered foreign online travel agents (OTAs) a deadline of March 13 to comply with Indonesian regulations before the government moves to block local access to their platforms.
The ministry’s written warning issued on Tuesday to the six firms refers to the government’s licensing framework on its censorship powers and digital taxation policies.
“In the event that the six foreign private ESPs [electronic system providers] do not respond to the warning letter, the Communications and Information Ministry can impose administrative sanctions in the form of termination of access to [their platforms],” the ministry stated in a press release published on Wednesday.
The six firms are: Amsterdam-based Booking.com, San Francisco-based Airbnb.com, Singapore-based Agoda.com, Hong Kong-based Klook.com, Germany’s global hotel search company Trivago and Trivago’s US-based parent Expedia Group.
None of the companies responded immediately to a request for comment from The Jakarta Post.
Communications Ministerial Regulation No. 5/2020 requires ESPs, a broad category referring to digital platforms that provide their services in Indonesia, to submit information including company data, the platform’s name and URL, the types of personal data processed and the location of the company’s data management or processing facilities.
Read also: Businesses call on govt to tighten the screws on foreign travel agents
