Country blocks TikTok’s licence, potentially jeopardising 100 million accounts

TikTok temporarily suspended its live feature during recent protests

Indonesia has moved to suspend TikTok's operational registration, citing the social media giant's failure to provide comprehensive data related to the use of its live stream feature.

The decision, announced by a government official on Friday, theoretically jeopardises access for more than 100 million Indonesian accounts.

However, the popular application remained accessible as normal following the announcement, with the ministry yet to clarify the immediate implications.

Alexander Sabar, an official from Indonesia's communications and digital ministry, revealed in a statement that some accounts with ties to online gambling activities had exploited TikTok's live stream function during recent national protests.

These demonstrations, which occurred between late August and September, saw the world's third-largest democracy rocked by public anger over exorbitant lawmaker allowances and police brutality.

Notably, TikTok had temporarily disabled its live feature during the protests, stating at the time that this was intended to "keep TikTok a safe and civil space".

Protests rocked the world's third-largest democracy over exorbitant lawmaker allowances and police brutality from late August to September (AFP via Getty Images)

A spokesperson for TikTok confirmed on Friday that the company respects the laws in the markets it operates in, adding that it is actively working on the issue with the digital ministry to find a resolution.

Sabar said the government had asked the company for its traffic, streaming and monetisation data. The company, owned by China's ByteDance, did not provide complete data, citing its internal procedures, Sabar said without giving further detail.

"So the communications and digital ministry deemed TikTok to have violated its obligations as a private electronic provider," and suspended its registration, he said.

The regulation regarding the list says every company that has signed up to Indonesia's licensing rules must hand over its data to the government for the purpose of supervision or risk being blocked.