Fahmi Fadzil: Malaysia Is Looking Into Indonesia's Move To Ban TikTok Shop
The Communications and Digital Minister also said that he has received complaints from Malaysians who have expressed concern about the ban.
By Wayne Garreth — 09 Oct 2023, 01:25 PM
Last Wednesday, 4 October, TikTok Indonesia made the official decision to end transactions on its e-commerce marketplace, TikTok Shop, in order to comply with new local regulations
According to CNBC, the move comes after Indonesian President Joko Widodo called for social media regulations. He stated that the influx of such platforms have contributed to a sales decline for domestic businesses by flooding the market with foreign imports.
The Indonesian Ministry of Trade had set a one-week deadline for TikTok to become a standalone app, without any e-commerce feature, or be shut down. TikTok responded in a statement saying that their priority is to remain compliant with such local rules and regulations.
"As such, we will no longer facilitate e-commerce transactions in TikTok Shop Indonesia by 17:00 GMT +7, 4 October, and will continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities on the path forward," said TikTok.
It was stated in an article by The New York Times that Indonesia is TikTok's second largest market in the world, with about 125 million users.
On Saturday, 7 October, Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the Malaysian government will look into the action taken by the Indonesian government
However, according to an article by Bernama, Fahmi said that he has received complaints from members of the public, who have expressed concern about the action. At the same time, several large stores have also raised issues related to price competition for products sold through the platform.
"Many Malaysians use the TikTok Shop platform to sell goods, so I will ask the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the ministry to look into the basis of the action taken by the Indonesian government.
"I think TikTok needs to come forward and give an explanation, because one of the reasons why TikTok Shop is banned in Indonesia is because of the issue of predatory pricing, which is threatening local entrepreneurs in Indonesia," said Fahmi.
Aside from that, the Minister also stated that TikTok should provide clarification on the issue of personal data protection, which is a concern of the public when shopping on the platform
"I think all social media [platforms] will study user behaviour, starting from what we like, what we share, what we buy, and what we watch.
"So there are some issues that the Ministry of Communications and Digital Malaysia (KKD) and MCMC need to look into, especially regarding the aspects of consumerism or personal data protection.
"Therefore, I will call TikTok soon to discuss [the issues]," said the Minister.
