Indonesia bans goods transactions on social media platforms

Indonesia has banned goods transactions on social media platforms in a new regulation, its trade minister said Wednesday, as Jakarta aims to rein in direct sales on major platforms.

Calls had grown in recent months for a regulation governing social media and e-commerce, with offline sellers seeing their livelihoods threatened by the sale of cheaper products on TikTok Shop and other platforms. The Minister announced that social commerce platforms would be given one to comply with the new rule.

The regulation means social media firms will not be able to conduct direct transactions but only promote products on their platforms. Laws in the archipelago nation did not cover direct transactions through social media platforms such as TikTok, Facebook or Instagram before the new regulation.