JAKARTA - A year ago, TikTok's e-commerce business in Indonesia was thriving. With its viral videos, TikTok had become a worldwide phenomenon and it was translating its influence into a powerful new revenue stream by letting users buy and sell things while its videos played.
Indonesia was a critical market and the first place where TikTok rolled out this feature. The app, owned by the Chinese tech giant ByteDance, had about 130 million users, nearly as many as it had in the US. Since its launch here in 2021, TikTok Shop had become one of the most popular places for Indonesians to buy things online.
Then one day, TikTok said it was removing Shop from its app in Indonesia. The government had declared that social media platforms would no longer be allowed to process online payments. TikTok was thus forced to abruptly halt its e-commerce operations.
Some Indonesian officials argued that TikTok was so popular it threatened to monopolize online shopping, while others said it did not have the right license. TikTok's defenders in the industry said the government was acting on behalf of TikTok's competitors in Indonesia.
The government's edict did not name TikTok. It did not need to. No other app blended social media and e-commerce the way TikTok did.
Dealing with official scrutiny is familiar terrain for TikTok. The government in India, once home to the app's largest audience, banned TikTok in 2020 as payback for a violent border dispute with China. In the US, TikTok is facing a possible ban that could begin as soon as January after spending years fielding concerns about its influence and security.
But the threat in Indonesia had the potential to deal an especially devastating blow to ByteDance's ambitions to make a lot of money with e-commerce. ByteDance wanted TikTok to repeat the success of its sister app, Douyin, whose live-video shopping business in China topped US$200 billion (S$265 billion) in transaction value in 2022.
この記事は The Straits Times の November 04, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は The Straits Times の November 04, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Respect ban on Elena's coach, says Swiatek
Iga Swiatek believes the WTA's decision to ban Elena Rybakina's coach Stefano Vukov for breaching the tour's code of conduct should be respected and the process behind it should be trusted.
1% Chance To Defeat Real: Pep
City boss knows his side face mountain to climb at Bernabeu in 2nd leg of play-off
Price Of Sustainability
Hotel overhauls, changes in food sources to add to cost of greener stays
Is DEI Really Dead?
Behind the headline-making war on diversity programmes by the Trump administration lies a more complex reality.
A messy doping case, a troubled sport, a poised player
As words go, poise is a pretty one. It denotes equilibrium under stress and composure in crisis.
Fight travel lethargy at wellness space in T2 transit area
A new wellness space designed to help passengers combat travel lethargy has opened in the transit area of Changi Airport Terminal 2 (T2), said operator Changi Airport Group (CAG) on Feb 17.
Singapore's Key Exports Resilient Despite Dip in January Amid CNY Period
Singapore's key exports remain resilient even though they contracted in January amid the Chinese New Year period, following two consecutive months of expansion in November and December 2024.
Alibaba's Jack Ma shakes Xi's hand at meeting of China's business titans
Ma's appearance signals Beijing's desire to inject confidence into the private sector
Singapore's 2035 climate targets feasible but collaboration, geopolitical stability vital: Experts
Road to 2035: Driving down emissions
Japan's Peach airline warned after pilot breached alcohol ban
Japan's low-cost carrier Peach Aviation received a warning from the Civil Aviation Bureau after the captain of a Jan 7 flight from Singapore to Kansai drank two cans of beer despite a pre-shift alcohol ban, and skipped an alcohol test before operating the plane.
