Jakarta. Indonesian lawmakers plan to summon ByteDance's TikTok Shop, one of the country's largest online marketplaces, after hundreds of small businesses complained that the e-commerce platform froze seller balances worth billions of rupiah,

Evita Nursanty, deputy chair of the House of Representatives' Commission VII, said Thursday the panel wants TikTok Shop to explain allegations that it withheld payments from micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), some of which claim they have been unable to access sales proceeds for years.

"It would be better if TikTok comes to the hearing so we can hear directly how it responds to these issues," Evita said during a meeting with affected sellers at the parliament complex in Jakarta on Thursday.

The move comes after the MSMEs Ministry received a formal response from TikTok Shop regarding the complaints. According to Evita, the company said some cases had been resolved and alleged that certain sellers had engaged in "fake selling" or fraudulent transactions.

However, she questioned the claim, saying TikTok had not provided evidence to support the accusations.

"What is the proof that they committed fake selling? They only presented figures without evidence," she said.

Evita urged affected businesses to compile detailed documentation of their cases so the government can present the information to TikTok Shop ahead of the planned hearing.

Representatives of the sellers told lawmakers that around 500 MSMEs nationwide had experienced frozen or missing account balances, with total losses allegedly reaching trillions of rupiah.

Siska Yofthie, head of the Bekasi branch of the National Creative Economy Movement (Gekrafs), said some merchants reported losses ranging from Rp100 million ($5,500) to more than Rp1 billion, while claims from Bekasi alone totaled about Rp1 trillion.

She stressed that the group does not oppose foreign investment or Indonesia's growing digital economy but wants a fair and transparent mechanism for resolving disputes between platforms and merchants.

The group called on parliament to strengthen regulations protecting MSMEs engaged in e-commerce and establish an independent dispute resolution process to address payment disputes.

One seller, identified as Asri, told lawmakers that TikTok Shop froze Rp800 million in sales proceeds in January 2023 despite customers having received their orders.

Asri said the seller account initially showed no violations before it was later flagged as fraudulent, preventing the funds from being withdrawn.

"We were suddenly accused of being fraudulent sellers after our money had already been frozen," Asri said.

She said repeated appeals through the TikTok Shop application were rejected, while attempts to seek help at the company's office were unsuccessful because sellers were directed back to the online appeals process.

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