Can't Just Decide, Kemenkominfo Kaji Dalam Wacana TikTok Shop Closed

Illustration of the TikTok application. (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - Minister of Communication and Information (Menkominfo) Budi Arie Setiadi said that his party is currently still conducting a study in response to requests from several parties to close the TikTok Shop platform.

"We are currently still reviewing the dynamics, because as feared, is it true that he (TikTok Shop) predatory pricing?," Budi said when met in Jakarta, Thursday, September 21, confiscated by Antara.

According to him, at this time his party cannot just make a decision to close a digital platform, especially if the platform has a business license according to the services it presents in Indonesia.

Therefore, an in-depth study and evaluation is needed so that the decision taken in response to the social commerce trend can be right on target.

In the TikTok Shop case, Budi said the platform in its operations in Indonesia had obtained a permit for social media and permission to sell online.

"When I asked about the permit, they (TikTok) said that since July they already had an e-commerce permit, so actually nothing was violated according to the applicable law," said Budi.

Even so, Budi will still conduct studies, especially regarding the issue of predatory pricing and only determine the next steps after coordinating with cross-ministerial and related institutions such as the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs.

Previously, MSME players who still rely on direct sales in shops such as traders at Tanah Abang Market admitted and complained about sluggish sales due to social commerce trends such as TikTok Shop.

The prices offered for products on these digital platforms are considered too low and eventually cause predatory pricing conditions or kill market prices.

Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs (MenKopUKM) Teten Masduki also revealed that there was a decrease in turnover experienced by traders in the largest market in Southeast Asia due to losing to competing with products from abroad that were sold cheaply through online platforms.

Earlier we discussed whether they were because they did not transform from selling in the market to online. It turns out that they have also carried out a transformation. They have sold online but they cannot compete," said MenKopUKM Teten after inspecting Tanah Abang Market Blok A, Jakarta on Tuesday 19 September.