The Indonesian government has announced the suspension of ByteDance's TikTok’s registration as a recognized “electronic system provider” after the short-video social media platform decided not to share Indonesians livestream data with the regulator as required under national law.
Indonesia’s Electronic System Provider (ESP/PSE) law is a legal framework that regulates how digital platforms, tech companies, and any provider of online systems operate in the country.
The law—designed for both local and foreign companies—mandates that online service providers must:
- Register with the Ministry of Communication and Informatics (Kominfo),
- Share certain operational and user data for government oversight,
- Ensure data protection and cybersecurity, standards,
- Provide transparent terms of service in Indonesian
- Comply with restrictions on illegal or harmful content.
In a nutshell, the law gives the government authority to supervise digital platforms and hold them accountable; failure to comply can result in sanctions or even blocking of the service in Indonesia.
This means that companies licensed under this Indonesia are required to share their data with the government for monitoring purposes or face a complete restriction. TikTok, which counts over 100 million users in Indonesia, is violating this law, and the compant has not responded to comment at press time.
However, despite the fact that the suspension is serious, the silver lining is that TikTok remains accessible in Indonesia for now, so users haven’t been completely cut off.
Why Indonesia Banned TikTok
Indonesia’s decision to suspend TikTok’s registration is not only because the platform fall to share livestream data, the reason includes: security, accountability, and compliance concerns. During the nationwide protests between late August and September—driven by public anger over lawmakers’ lavish allowances and incidents of police brutality—TikTok’s livestreaming tool was misused.
According to Alexander Sabar, an official at Indonesia's communications and digital ministry, some accounts tied to online gambling exploited the feature to profit from the unrest. In response, TikTok temporarily shut down its livestream option, saying it wanted to keep the platform safe and civil.
But the government went further, requesting detailed records on TikTok’s traffic, streaming activity, and monetization practices. Meanwhile, the company provided only partial information and cited internal policies but the regulator said it's not enough.
That lack of transparency was the tipping point. Officials concluded that TikTok had failed to fulfill its legal obligations as a registered electronic system provider in Indonesia. As a result, the ministry suspended the company’s registration—not an outright ban on the app’s use, but a strong warning that the platform must comply fully with the country’s digital governance rules.
However, it's worth noting that since TikTok can still be accessed in Indonesia, it means the government is giving ByteDance a room for negotiation. The situation gives ByteDance to bring TikTok under compliance, rather than being shut out completely.
This suspension reinforces the principle that digital platforms must operate under local regulations and also signals that no company—be it local or international—is exempt from Indonesia's legal obligations. This may push other tech companies operating in the country to be more transparent, and show the abilities that they are capable of protecting user's data.
