Firms finding ways around Jakarta's ban on social media e-commerce

Applying for new licences among avenues to stay in lucrative Indonesian market

- Hariz Baharudin

From setting up teams to discuss new commercial ideas to applying for new licences, social media companies are finding workarounds to Indonesia’s ban on the buying and selling of goods on their platforms.

They are fuelled by the desire to get a slice of the archipelago’s US$51.9 billion (S$70.3 billion) e-commerce pie.

On Sept 27, the government banned commercial transactions on social media platforms, saying that this was to ensure “fair and just” competition and protect user data.

Companies were given a week to comply with the new rules, which were widely seen as unofficially targeting video-sharing platform TikTok and its e-commerce arm TikTok Shop.

TikTok Shop quickly gained momentum after entering the market in 2021 and several leaders, including Indonesian President Joko Widodo, have pointed out that it had adversely affected micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the country.

But more than a month on, according to media and research reports, firms like Beijing-based ByteDance, which owns TikTok, have not given up the fight to sell goods on their platforms.