عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Technology

Apple iPhone 16 Sales Blocked in Indonesia Due to Local Parts Rule

The iPhone 16 Pro is seen at an event at the Steve Jobs Theater on its campus in Cupertino, California, US, September 9, 2024. (Reuters)
The iPhone 16 Pro is seen at an event at the Steve Jobs Theater on its campus in Cupertino, California, US, September 9, 2024. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Apple iPhone 16 Sales Blocked in Indonesia Due to Local Parts Rule

The iPhone 16 Pro is seen at an event at the Steve Jobs Theater on its campus in Cupertino, California, US, September 9, 2024. (Reuters)
The iPhone 16 Pro is seen at an event at the Steve Jobs Theater on its campus in Cupertino, California, US, September 9, 2024. (Reuters)

Tech giant Apple Inc will not be allowed to sell its iPhone 16 smartphones in Indonesia because they have not met the country's rules on the use of locally made components, the industry ministry said.
Indonesia requires certain smartphones sold domestically to contain at least 40% of parts manufactured locally and the iPhone 16 has not met the requirement, ministry spokesperson Febri Hendri Antoni Arief said in a statement issued on Friday.
"Imported iPhone 16 hardwares cannot be marketed in the country, because Apple Indonesia has not fulfilled its investment commitment to earn a local content certification," he said, adding that the phones can still be brought from abroad for personal use as long as users pay the necessary taxes.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters said.
The company's iPhone 16 phones were first released in September.
The top two smartphone makers in the first quarter of 2024 in Indonesia were Chinese firm OPPO and South Korean firm Samsung, research firm IDC said in May.
Indonesia has a huge, tech-savvy population, making the Southeast Asian nation a key target market for tech-related investment.
During a visit by Apple's CEO Tim Cook to Indonesia last April, Indonesia's Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said he hoped the tech giant would increase its local content by partnering with domestic firms.
Companies usually increase the domestic requirement through such local partnerships or by sourcing parts domestically.
Apple has no manufacturing facilities in Indonesia, but since 2018 it has been setting up app developer academies, which including the new academy have a total cost of 1.6 trillion rupiah ($101.8 million).

Most Viewed

 
 
Technology

A Social Media Ban for Under-16s Passes the Australian Senate and Will Soon be a World-first Law

A teenager uses his mobile phone to access social media, Sydney, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Dean Lewins/AAP Image VIA AP)
A teenager uses his mobile phone to access social media, Sydney, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Dean Lewins/AAP Image VIA AP)
TT
TT

A Social Media Ban for Under-16s Passes the Australian Senate and Will Soon be a World-first Law

A teenager uses his mobile phone to access social media, Sydney, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Dean Lewins/AAP Image VIA AP)
A teenager uses his mobile phone to access social media, Sydney, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Dean Lewins/AAP Image VIA AP)

A social media ban for children under 16 passed the Australian Senate Thursday and will soon become a world-first law.

The law will make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) for systemic failures to prevent children younger than 16 from holding accounts, The AP reported.

The Senate passed the bill 34 votes to 19. The House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved the legislation 102 votes to 13.

The House has yet to endorse opposition amendments made in the Senate. But that is a formality since the government has already agreed they will pass.

The platforms will have one year to work out how they could implement the ban before penalties are enforced.

The amendments bolster privacy protections. Platforms would not be allowed to compel users to provide government-issued identity documents including passports or driver’s licenses, nor could they demand digital identification through a government system.

The House is scheduled to pass the amendments on Friday. Critics of the legislation fear that banning young children from social media will impact the privacy of users who must establish they are older than 16.

While the major parties support the ban, many child welfare and mental health advocates are concerned about unintended consequences.

Sen. David Shoebridge, from the minority Greens party, said mental health experts agreed that the ban could dangerously isolate many children who used social media to find support.

“This policy will hurt vulnerable young people the most, especially in regional communities and especially the LGBTQI community, by cutting them off,” Shoebridge told the Senate.

Opposition Sen. Maria Kovacic said the bill was not radical but necessary.

“The core focus of this legislation is simple: It demands that social media companies take reasonable steps to identify and remove underage users from their platforms,” Kovacic told the Senate.

“This is a responsibility these companies should have been fulfilling long ago, but for too long they have shirked these responsibilities in favor of profit,” she added.

Online safety campaigner Sonya Ryan, whose 15-year-old daughter Carly was murdered by a 50-year-old pedophile who pretended to be a teenager online, described the Senate vote as a “monumental moment in protecting our children from horrendous harms online.”

“It’s too late for my daughter, Carly, and the many other children who have suffered terribly and those who have lost their lives in Australia, but let us stand together on their behalf and embrace this together,” she told the AP in an email.

Wayne Holdsworth, whose teenage son Mac took his own life after falling victim to an online sextortion scam, had advocated for the age restriction and took pride in its passage.

“I have always been a proud Australian, but for me subsequent to today’s Senate decision, I am bursting with pride,” Holdsworth told the AP in an email.