OJK Affirms Financial Influencer Regulation Not Intended to Restrict Content Creators

The Financial Services Authority (OJK) has affirmed that the issuance of OJK Regulation (POJK) Number 6 of 2026 concerning Information Providers in the Financial Services Sector, or financial influencers, is not intended to restrict the activities of financial content creators. The regulation is designed to strengthen consumer protection, improve the quality of financial literacy, and maintain the integrity of the financial system.

Deputy Commissioner for Business Conduct Supervision and Consumer Protection of OJK, Rizal Ramadhani, stated that the formulation of the regulation stemmed from the principle that the state must intervene when market mechanisms do not function perfectly. "This POJK was quite exciting during its formation. We essentially departed from the teachings of John Maynard Keynes that the government must step in when the market experiences distortion or failure because the market is imperfect. The state must intervene," Rizal said during a discussion event between the OJK Board of Commissioners and mass media editors in Jakarta on Friday.

OJK has observed the growing role of financial influencers in providing education, conducting marketing, and delivering recommendations related to financial service products. This condition is deemed to require a regulatory framework to ensure that the information received by the public remains of high quality and is not misleading.

Rizal explained that OJK has moved away from the old consumer protection approach known as "the consumer beware," which placed the responsibility for protection entirely on the consumer. "Our principle is that we have abandoned the consumer beware concept. We do not want the public to be led astray. Therefore, we are directing the views of financial influencers towards a better path," he said.

He stressed that the regulation is not intended to limit the space for financial influencers. On the contrary, OJK views them as an important part of the financial services ecosystem that plays a role in enhancing public financial literacy and inclusion. "It is not that we want to restrict them, no. Financial influencers are part of the financial services ecosystem in the context of literacy and education. What we encourage is honest, accurate, not misleading, clear, and responsible literacy and education," Rizal said.

According to Rizal, the presence of a regulator is necessary to prevent the development of the digital industry from causing market disruptions in the future. "In the context of regulating influencers, we are at the forefront. This is solely to prevent market disruption," he stated. He added that POJK Number 6 of 2026 was drafted using a principle-based approach, allowing room for innovation and continuous improvement in line with industry developments. "This POJK uses a very principal approach because it will need improvements later. OJK policies must not be counterproductive to innovation. This regulation is needed by the market and is expected to help improve financial literacy and inclusion, which currently still have gaps," he said.