Indonesia Asks Apple, Google To Block China’s Temu To Protect Its Merchants

Indonesia has asked Alphabet's Google and Apple to block Chinese fast fashion e-commerce firm Temu in their application stores in the country so it cannot be downloaded, a minister said, Ananda Teresia reported for Reuters.

Temu's rapid growth has triggered scrutiny over its low-cost business model of sending parcels to customers from China in several countries.

The move was intended to preemptively protect the country’s small and medium-sized businesses against cheap products being offered by PDD Holdings' Temu, Communications Minister Budi Arie Setiadi told Reuters, even though authorities have not yet found any transactions by its residents on the platform.

Temu's rapid growth has triggered scrutiny over its low-cost business model of sending parcels to customers from China in several countries.

Temu's business model, which connects consumers directly with factories in China to significantly reduce prices, is “unhealthy competition,” Budi said.

“We're not here to protect e-commerce; we protect small and medium enterprises. There are millions we must protect,” the minister said.

Jakarta will also block any investment by Temu in local e-commerce if it makes such a move, Budi said, adding he has not heard of any such plan. Budi also said the government plans to request a similar block for Chinese shopping service Shein.