Jokowi Talks of Modern Colonialism as App Collects Data of 123 Million Indonesians
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Editor
4 October 2023 21:26 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian President Joko Widodo or Jokowi claimed he was shocked to learn that an application had collected data on 123 million people in a few months from extremely massive purchases. He was concerned about data security and Indonesian consumer behavior which he felt was being controlled by certain parties through such a predatory pricing method.
“We should not fall into such a colonialism in this modern era. We don't realize that we are suddenly being economically colonized,” he said while giving a briefing at the education program of the National Resilience Institute at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Wednesday, October 4, 2023.
The President stopped short of mentioning the name of the application.
Indonesia, he emphasized, must become not only a market but also a producer. He said the country needs hard-working players to race against time.
The statement came after the government banned social commerce sites, such as TikTok Shop, in an effort to protect micro, small, and medium enterprises or MSMEs.
TikTok decided to cease transaction services on its platform starting today, October 4, at 5 p.m. Jakarta time.
In his speech, Jokowi said that technological development is progressing rapidly, but regulations are not yet supportive. He asserted that Indonesia must protect its digital sovereignty and local products. “We must properly protect our digital assets, our data, information, and market access.”
DANIEL A. FAJRI
Editor's Choice: TikTok Halts E-commerce Service Starting Oct. 4
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