Indonesia has suspended the sale of Google Pixel smartphones, citing non-compliance with the country’s domestic content regulations. The move comes shortly after a similar ban on Apple’s iPhone 16, underscoring Indonesia’s push to ensure foreign tech companies contribute to local economic growth by investing in domestic production.
The Indonesian Ministry of Industry mandates that smartphones sold in the country must contain at least 40% locally sourced content. This requirement can be met through local manufacturing, investment in innovation projects, or software development within Indonesia. Companies lacking local content certification are barred from selling their devices.
“The local content rule and related policies are made for fairness for all investors… and for creating added value and deepening the industry structure here,” said Febri Hendri Antoni Arief, spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry, as reported by TechCrunch.
While tech giants like Samsung and Xiaomi have complied by building local production facilities, Apple has tried to meet regulations through initiatives such as developer academies. However, the iPhone 16 was recently banned for falling short of a $95 million investment goal linked to content compliance.
