The Indonesian government banned e-commerce transactions on social media platforms on Wednesday. The announcement was made by the country’s Trade Minister, Zulkifli Hasan, who stated that the government was attempting to defend offline merchants, marketplaces, and small enterprises. Government officials in recent weeks called for social media and e-commerce to be decoupled, targeting platforms they say engage in monopolistic practices that threaten offline sellers, with some specifically blaming Chinese-owned short video app TikTok. According to Hasan, predatory pricing on social media platforms is endangering the livelihoods of small and medium-sized businesses that are unable to compete with monopolistic rules. “This...