Jakarta, May 28, 2025 — Indonesia’s antitrust watchdog has warned that TikTok’s acquisition of e-commerce giant Tokopedia may trigger monopolistic practices and harm fair competition in the digital marketplace. Following an in-depth review, the Commission for the Supervision of Business Competition (KPPU) has proposed conditional approval for the high-profile deal.
In a hearing held on May 27, KPPU investigators presented the findings of their full assessment of the acquisition, which saw TikTok Nusantara (SG) Pte. Ltd. take a 75.01% stake in PT Tokopedia as of January 31, 2024. The merger combined one of Indonesia’s largest e-commerce platforms with the rapidly growing social commerce feature of TikTok Shop.
Investigators concluded that the transaction could lead to market dominance and unhealthy competition, citing:
- A significant increase in market concentration in physical goods e-commerce (including electronics, fashion, household items, and toys),
- The likelihood of unilateral price increases post-merger due to dominant market position,
- The potential misuse of network effects via tying or bundling strategies that could marginalize small businesses and limit consumer choice.
Although no significant market access barriers or entry hurdles were found for new players, the combined entity’s scale and integration of platforms raised concerns over future competitive behavior.
Key Conditions Proposed by KPPU
To mitigate these risks, KPPU investigators proposed several binding conditions, including:
- Prohibiting exclusive payment and logistics systems tied to TikTok or Tokopedia.
- Preventing abuse of market power, such as predatory pricing, unfair promotion of in-house products (self-preferencing), and restrictive conditions for sellers.
- Allowing TikTok users to freely promote products from competing e-commerce platforms.
- Safeguarding SMEs (UMKM) from discriminatory practices and ensuring equal opportunities on both platforms.
KPPU also requested TikTok and Tokopedia to provide regular compliance data, including quarterly reports, details of logistics and payment partners, and relevant contracts before and after the acquisition.
The next hearing, scheduled for June 10, 2025, will address the companies’ responses to the proposed conditions and the implementation timeline.
For more updates and access to KPPU’s case schedules and decisions, visit https://kppu.go.id/jadwal-sidang/.
Source: https://kppu.go.id/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Siaran-Pers-No.-030_KPPU-PR_V_2025-1.pdf
