Indonesia has reinstated TikTok‘s operating license (electronic system provider registration) after the social media platform shared requested data related to live streaming activity during recent protests, highlighting the growing intersection between platform regulation and political communication in Southeast Asia’s largest digital market.

As the Associated Press reports, the Communications Ministry temporarily suspended TikTok’s license on October 3 after the company initially refused to comply with government requests for user activity data from August 25-30, a period marked by deadly protests across Indonesia that resulted in ten fatalities.

“TikTok has submitted data related to traffic escalation and monetization activity of its Live during the requested period,” Alexander Sabar, Director General of Digital Space Supervision at the Ministry of Communication & Digital Affairs, said in a statement. “Based on the fulfillment of its obligations, the government ended the temporary suspension and reactivated TikTok’s license.”

Indonesian officials stated the data request aimed to trace accounts linked to online gambling that allegedly monetized TikTok’s live streaming feature during the protests. The company had previously cited internal policies as preventing full compliance with the data request.

TikTok voluntarily suspended its live streaming capacity on August 30 when tensions were at their peak, resuming the feature days later as the situation stabilized. Despite the license suspension, the platform remained accessible to Indonesian users.

Platform Influence in Political Communication

The incident occurs against a backdrop of growing influence for social media platforms in Indonesia’s politics. Recent research published in the INJECT journal reveals influencer marketing has become a critical component of digital political campaigns in the country, with research publications on the topic increasing nearly five-fold between 2019 and 2023.

Indonesia’s creator economy now features approximately 12 million content producers generating between 500,000 and one million pieces of content monthly, positioning the country as Southeast Asia’s leading content producer, according to a 2024 GroupM-GOAT Indonesia report.

Different social media platforms serve distinct roles in Indonesia’s political communication ecosystem. While X functions primarily as a platform for political discussions, Instagram is leveraged for visual campaign content, and TikTok has gained importance for reaching younger voters.

The Indonesian government has increasingly recognized the influence of social media, enlisting influencers earlier this year to promote the relocation of its capital from Jakarta to Nusantara on the island of Borneo.

TikTok’s compliance with government data requests signals the complex regulatory environment facing global platforms operating in Indonesia, where more than half of the nation’s 270 million population is under 40 and highly active on social media.

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