Indonesia said it had banned sales of smartphones by Alphabet’s Google because of rules requiring the use of locally-made components, days after tech giant Apple blocked sales of the iPhone 16 for the same reason.

Indonesia has blocked sales of Google Pixel phones after the company failed to comply with rules requiring certain smartphones sold in the country to contain at least 40% domestically produced parts.

“We insist on these rules so that there is fairness for all investors in Indonesia,” Fabri Hendri Antoni Arief, a spokesman for the industry ministry, said on Thursday. “Google products don’t fit the pattern we’ve set, so they can’t be sold here.”

Google said its Pixel phones are currently not officially distributed in Indonesia.

Febry said consumers can buy Google Pixel phones abroad as long as they pay the necessary taxes, adding that the country will consider deactivating phones sold illegally.

The ban comes a week after Indonesia said it had blocked domestic sales of the iPhone 16, also for failing to comply with local content regulations.

Companies typically increase their use of domestic components to meet such regulations by partnering with local suppliers or sourcing parts domestically.

Google and Apple are not among the leading smartphone manufacturers in Indonesia. China’s OPPO and South Korea’s Samsung were the top two smartphone makers in the first quarter of 2024, research firm IDC said in May.

Indonesia has a huge, tech-savvy population, making the Southeast Asian country a key target market for technology investment.

Bhima Yudhisthira, director of the Center of Economic and Law Studies, a think-tank, said the move is “pseudo” protectionism that hurts consumers and affects investor confidence.

“This creates a negative sentiment for investors who want to enter Indonesia,” he said.

© Thomson Reuters 2024