Tokopedia Closes Thousands of Stores Selling Fake Vitamins

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - E-commerce giant Tokopedia CEO William Tanuwijaya confirmed that there were people who used the COVID-19 pandemic to sell fake vitamins or medical devices above normal prices.

“We closed tens of thousands of stores, but there are new criminals every day even though the percentage is very small,” said William in a public hearing with the House of Representatives (DPR) Commission VI on Wednesday, September 15.

Even though the percentage was small, William said cases related to e-commerce often went viral due to the development of social media. However, this did not mean the company did not take action against the violations.

“When it goes viral, we were actually working with the police to find the syndicate or persons behind it because our business is based on reputation,” he added. “If we do not uphold consumer's protection, consumers will easily switch to other platforms.”

William said that in the digital trading business, the company could easily guarantee that consumers could get goods as offered by store owners. However, his side chose to empower MSMEs and used joint accounts so that buyers could file a complaint if the purchased goods were not as expected. 

“Marketplace becomes the judge to see evidence from buyers and sellers and then decide who is right and wrong. Buyers can also give a rating. In our community, it is called ‘let the rating speak,” the Tokopedia CEO said of the stores’ reputation.

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CAESAR AKBAR