Indonesia has introduced new regulations that require influencers or social media influencers to obtain a competency certificate before they can recommend or promote digital assets such as cryptocurrencies.
The regulations issued by Indonesia's financial regulator aim to increase investor protection and ensure that only individuals with knowledge and qualifications can provide views related to crypto investments.
Under the new regulations, influencers are only allowed to promote digital assets listed on recognized crypto exchanges.
In addition, the promoted company or platform must also have a valid license from the authorities.
All marketing campaigns must also be carried out through regulated financial institutions or service providers.
This means that the companies involved are fully responsible for the promotional content published and must publish it through their official communication channels.
This move makes Indonesia one of the countries that is increasingly tightening control over finfluencers, namely influencers who produce content related to finance, investments and digital assets.
In fact, several other countries have taken similar steps.
In Australia, authorities have announced that influencers may need a financial services license if their content is considered investment advice or helps manage financial transactions.
Financial companies that use influencers can also be held liable if they break the law.
In the United Kingdom, financial regulators have warned that unauthorized individuals could be committing a criminal offense if they promote financial products without approval from an authorized company.
In fact, authorities have successfully ordered the removal of more than 1,200 illegal financial advertisements from social media that had reached more than 2.3 million users.
Meanwhile, the Philippines has also introduced specific regulations on crypto promotion, including sponsored content, social media posts, podcasts, live streaming and paid educational content.
Crypto service providers are also required to disclose the identities of all third parties appointed to promote their products.
