The Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs, on Friday, October 3, 2025, has placed a temporary suspension on the operating licence of TikTok.
This move came after the platform allegedly refused to provide adequate data about recent anti-government protests in August. In a press briefing, the Ministry stressed that TikTok had not fully complied with requests for information.
“This step is a form of the government’s firmness after TikTok only provided partial data,” said Alexander Sabar, Director General of Digital Space Supervision. With more than 100 million users, Indonesia is TikTok’s second-largest audience base, after China, where the app is owned by Bytedance.
Meanwhile, this development reveals that the video-sharing app is facing increasing limits and bans on a global scale. International co-operations and bodies have banned staff from using TikTok on their corporate phones, as well as federal governments in some countries. Here is a list of countries that have banned or suspended the TikTok app.
1) Australia
Australia banned TikTok from all federal government-owned devices in April 2023. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the ban was because of security concerns and would be imposed “as soon as practicable.”
2) Afghanistan
According to Bloomberg, the Taliban government banned TikTok in Afghanistan in April 2022, noting that the platform’s content “was not consistent with Islamic laws.”
3) Canada
Just like other countries, Canada banned the app from being installed on all government mobile devices. President of the Treasury Board, Mona Fortier, stated that the temporary ban was enforced because TikTok presents as “an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security.”
She added in a statement, "The decision to remove and block TikTok from government mobile devices is being taken as a precaution, particularly given concerns about the legal regime that governs the information collected from mobile devices, and is in line with the approach of our international partners."
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4) Belgium
Minister Alexander De Croo said in a statement, “We can’t be naive: TikTok is a Chinese company that currently is mandated to cooperate with Chinese intelligence services.” Belgium also joined the list, banning the video-sharing app from the work phones of government officials in March 2023.
5) Denmark
In March 2023, Denmark banned its employees from having TikTok on their devices, citing security concerns, which was assessed by the country’s Center for Cyber Security.
6) Nepal
In November 2023, Nepal banned the app for disrupting “social harmony.” In Nepal, TikTok is mostly used by younger and female citizens. The minister for communications and information technology, Rekha Sharma, said that the app spreads malicious content.
7) India
India implemented a nationwide ban on TikTok in 2020 for getting involved in activities which are known to be prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of the country, its defence, security of the state and public order.
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8) New Zealand
New Zealand joined the list of other countries that banned the app on all parliament’s staff devices in March 2023. The parliamentary Service chief executive, Rafael Gonzalez-Montero, made a statement saying, “This decision has been made based on our own experts’ analysis and following discussion with our colleagues across government and internationally.”
9) The Netherlands
Since January 2023, the Dutch officials have been mandated not to use the app. A spokesperson for the general affairs ministry added that, “The recommendation is in line with several other government service bodies, but is being less monitored in the Netherlands.”
10) Somalia
Somalia banned TikTok due to the concerns of terror-related content in August 2023. The government noted that terrorist groups are using platforms like TikTok and Telegram to spread “horrific images and misinformation to the public.”
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11) Norway
The Norwegian parliament allowed civil servants to use TikTok on their devices for professional purposes but banned it on governmental devices in March 2023. “The Norwegian intelligence services single out Russia and China as the main risk factors for Norway’s security interests”, said in a statement by the Country’s Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl.
12) Taiwan
Taiwan also banned the video-sharing app and other Chinese-made software from government devices in December 2022.
13) United States
The US ban is dicey. On April 24, 2024, Former President Joe Biden signed the bill to ban TikTok in the U.S if ByteDance fails to strip out of the app in 2025. During this period, a lot of tussling occurred between the TikTok CEO, Shou Zi Chew and the U.S House of Representatives, but in summary, the future of TikTok in America remains inconclusive.
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14) United Kingdom
Based on the reviews by the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, British government ministers were banned from using TikTok on work devices in March 2023. In addition, Oliver Dowden, the Cabinet Office Minister, noted in a Statement that the decision “is in line with similar restrictions brought in by key international partners”.
15) Indonesia
In October 2025, the Indonesian government suspended TikTok’s operating licence due to the app’s refusal to provide traffic and other data related to “the alleged monetisation” of live activities from accounts suspected of online gambling.
Director General of Digital Space Supervision, Alexander Sabar, said in a statement that, “This step is a form of the government’s firmness after TikTok only provided partial data,”
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