TikTok continues to violate Indonesia's ban on in-app transactions: Minister

TikTok Indonesia: The Chinese short video app TikTok remains in violation of Indonesia's ban on in-app transactions, according to a cabinet minister on Tuesday. This comes after TikTok took control of Indonesia's largest e-commerce platform to relaunch its online shopping business.

TikTok had to shut down its e-commerce service, TikTok Shop, in Indonesia following the country's prohibition on online shopping on social media platforms last year. The ban was implemented to safeguard smaller merchants and user data.

In December, Indonesian tech conglomerate GoTo announced that TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, had finalised a deal to acquire 75.01 per cent of Tokopedia for $840 million.

Teten Masduki, Indonesia's Minister for Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs), who had previously criticised TikTok Shop, stated that TikTok had not yet complied with the regulation.

"The trade minister has to reprimand TikTok so that it complies with the regulation, if not then ... the government's authority is undermined," Masduki said.

A TikTok representative in Indonesia did not respond immediately to a Reuters request for comment.

The trade ministry is currently reviewing how to best address the issue.

Last year, TikTok expressed its intention to invest billions of dollars in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, the region's largest economy.

(With Reuters inputs.)