Do Not Let The Ban On TikTop Shop Cs Even Resign The Era Of The Digital Economy

Illustration of selling on social media (Photo: Antara/Aprillio Akbar)

JAKARTA - The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, highlighted the new government regulations regarding social commerce practices such as TikTok Shop. Through Permendag No. 31 of 2023. Now social media is now prohibited from being used for selling.

The DPR hopes that the new regulations issued related to business on social media can create a balance between digital and conventional markets. With careful and precise regulations, the Government must ensure that economic development in Indonesia remains fair and sustainable," said Puan, Wednesday, September 27.

As is known, the issuance of Permendag No. 31 of 2023 is a response to the lack of conventional markets in the aftermath of digital trade which offers very cheap prices in social commerce. This rule is intended for the creation of fair trade or fair trade.

Through this regulation, social media such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are prohibited from being used for selling. Social media can currently only be used to facilitate promotions, not for place of sale and purchase transactions.

Permendag No. 31 of 2023 is also referred to as an effort by the Government to further regulate businesses in digital lines so as not to kill domestic Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) players who are still selling their wares through conventional methods.

If you continue to make buying and selling transactions, for example on Live TikTok, the social media platform will be subject to sanctions, even threats to the closure of social media platforms. Puan assessed that further strategies were needed to create justice between digital and conventional business actors.

"After making regulations, it is time for the Government to create a further strategy that still upholds justice for all business actors. Do not let the new rules become a boomerang for the State to achieve the target of the digital economy era," said the former Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture.

According to TikTok Indonesia data, there are around 6 million local business actors who depend on their business through social commerce services. Then there are about 7 million affiliate creators who use the Tiktok Shop platform.

Reflecting on this, Puan hopes that the Government will present regulations that win-win solutions and take sides with all parties. This is because the rapid development of technology is very influential in the trade industry.

"So it must be balanced with the right regulations. So that in the future Indonesia can take part in the development of the digital economy era," explained Puan.

On the other hand, the first woman to serve as Chair of the Indonesian House of Representatives encourages the Government to carry out socialization and training for conventional business actors to be able to adapt to the times. Puan said conventional business actors need to be supported to improve their business so that they can balance their selling in conventional markets and digital markets.

"Don't let the businesses that have been built for years be closed because they don't keep up with the times, this is an important task of the Government," he explained.

Furthermore, Puan emphasized the importance of the Government's intervention to revive traditional markets. One of them is by revitalizing conventional markets to attract the attention of buyers again.

"The goal of revitalizing traditional markets is based on restoring the convenience of buyers, adding to the turnover of traders, so as not to lose competitiveness with modern markets or digital markets," said Puan.

Permendag No. 31 of 2023 will also regulate the sale of goods from abroad. The government will provide equal treatment between imported goods and domestically produced goods. Imported food products sold through digital platforms will be required to have a halal certificate, as well as skincare that requires guarantees or BPOM's permission, and electronic products must have standards.

Not only that, social commerce is also not allowed to act as a producer and later import transactions can only be done once with a minimum of USD 100 or equivalent to Rp. 1.5 million. This is considered important because trading activities on social commerce such as TikTok Shop so far, imported goods can be purchased directly by Indonesian consumers aka crossborder.

"In order to overcome the lack of buyers in conventional markets, control the price of cheaper imported goods and regulatory regulations that are wise is an important step towards the recovery of healthy and sustainable conventional markets," explained Puan.

"By maintaining a balance between protecting local producers and facilitating international trade, Indonesia can strengthen the domestic economic sector and improve the quality of life of its people," added Bung Karno's grandson.

Puan is of the view that more rigid regulations are needed for the entry of imported goods into Indonesia. According to him, stricter control must be carried out on the price of imported goods.

"Of course this is to protect local producers, especially MSMEs who often have difficulty competing with cheaper imported products," said Puan.

"The government must prioritize local goods, and not facilitate the entry of imported products at a much lower price because they are very detrimental to local MSME products," he continued.

Puan said that unbalanced price competition between imported goods and local products would have an impact on domestic producers and national economic growth. Even so, he asked the Government to ensure that regulations made do not hinder the growth of international trade and cooperation between countries.

"It is not an easy thing to formulate a regulation that produces balance for the country's economy and socio-economic life. However, this is a common homework for policy makers," explained Puan.

The rules made by the Government are also to emphasize that social media should not concurrently serve as e-commerce. This aims to maintain the sovereignty of the personal data of Indonesian citizens. This is because social commerce can use personal data of its users for business purposes.

Puan also asked for awareness from social media platforms to implement the rules made by the Government.

"This is to protect people's personal data, especially since there have been many incidents of leakage of personal data that are very detrimental to Indonesian citizens. In order to make digital trade more effective, collaboration between social media and e-commerce needs to be done by following existing regulations," he said.

In addition, Puan also highlighted the crowds of celebrities who use social commerce platforms to market various products. Given the big influence of celebrities on the promotion of a merchandise, he hopes that endorsers also have sensitivity in marketing or promoting merchandise.

"Indeed, if there are celebrities who sell it, they will sell it quickly. But we hope that this kind of promotional strategy will be carried out in a positive way and goal," concluded Puan.