A day after Indonesia temporarily halted TikTok’s operating license in the country, it quickly reversed the suspension once the social media company provided the government with its requirement: data from livestreaming activity during .
Alexander Sabar, the director general of digital space supervision from Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi), announced on Saturday that TikTok “has submitted the requested data regarding traffic escalation and TikTok Live monetization activities” and that the nation, in turn, “has terminated the temporary suspension” of the Chinese-owned platform.
The license suspension fueled concerns on social media about a suppression of free speech, a situation not alleviated by ’s associations with Indonesia’s pre-democratic history, when he was a general facing accusations of human rights abuses and war crimes.
Year-long protests have condemned Prabowo’s domestic policies, which are perceived to favor Indonesia’s political elite. Ten individuals died in the recent protests, and TikTok, which boasts over 100 million accounts in Indonesia, in the country for a few days amid the violence to preserve the platform as “a safe and civil space.”
Here’s what to know.
Why was TikTok’s operating license suspended?
The license suspension arose from claims that TikTok’s livestreaming feature was being monetized during the protests. In early September, Jakarta police that some TikTok users deliberately broadcast live during the unrest to entice viewers into giving them gifts or virtual prizes that could be exchanged for cash.
Alexander, the Komdigi official, stated that because of the alleged monetization of livestreams from accounts “suspected of online gambling activities,” the ministry requested from TikTok data on traffic, livestreaming, and monetization—including the number and value of gifts given. Alexander TikTok was summoned on Sept. 16 for clarification, and the social media company was given a Sept. 23 deadline to provide the data.
TikTok, however, responded on Sept. 23 that it possesses internal policies and regulations for handling data that prevented it from fulfilling the Indonesian authorities’ request. Since TikTok failed to comply, Komdigi determined that TikTok “violated its obligations” as a private Electronic Service Provider and suspended the license. Alexander mentioned that the ministry was “committed to upholding national legal sovereignty in digital governance, including providing protection for users, particularly vulnerable groups such as children and adolescents, from the potential misuse of digital features for illegal activities.”
The suspension, however, was an administrative measure and did not lead to the app’s shutdown, Alexander .
With more than 100 million users, TikTok has served as an economic lifeline for many in Indonesia, especially those using TikTok Shop or TikTok Live for e-commerce. But Indonesia’s House of Representatives that the license suspension would not significantly impact such users.
In a on the license suspension, TikTok declared that it “respects the laws and regulations” in countries where it operates and that it was collaborating with the ministry “to resolve this issue constructively.”
Why did a suspension cause concern?
Digital repression has been an ongoing worry in Indonesia and in other countries experiencing domestic turmoil, such as Nepal, where a social-media shutdown last month that eventually toppled the government. Indonesia’s Constitutional Court that the government may block and throttle the country’s internet during periods of social unrest.
Last month, digital rights group Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet) concerns that social media companies in Indonesia have imposed “heavy restrictions and excessive content moderation” in light of the country’s protests, and it accused Meta—Facebook’s parent company—of removing protest-related content on its platforms.
The group also criticized how some social media users and activists for purportedly inciting violence.
Digital rights advocates have to limit a person to only one social media account per platform, ostensibly as a means to curb disinformation. The proposal gained traction in September, but critics argued it could restrict democracy, making dissenters easily identifiable and persecuted.
“The government will request personal data, whether it’s a national identification number or other personal data, so our social media activity can be tracked,” Hafizh Nabiyyin, head of SAFEnet’s freedom of expression division, at the time to the South China Morning Post. “Ultimately, this privacy violation will impact our freedom of expression.”
