Vietnam's new draft law on e-commerce will tighten regulations for livestream sellers, making them more accountable for the authenticity, quality and origin of goods sold online.

The draft requires domestic online sellers, livestreamers and affiliate marketers to verify their identities through VNeID, Vietnam's official national digital identity platform, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

E-commerce platform operators would also be responsible for verifying the identities of domestic sellers via VNeID and implementing real-time monitoring on livestreamers under the new law.

The draft also requires affiliate marketers to be identified by their service providers, with mechanisms to track and supervise their operations and remove illegal links.

Livestreamers and affiliate marketers would be banned from providing false or misleading information about products, services or promotions, and from promoting products on digital platforms that are not legally authorized to operate in Vietnam.

The draft also regulates the equal responsibility of overseas and domestic sellers to ensure fairness, requiring them to provide identification and investment documents before conducting sales on platforms.

"The law will help ensure transparency, protect consumer rights and provide a clearer legal framework for players," Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan said.

Vietnam must quickly issue the law on e-commerce to better regulate the booming sector, which ranked third in Southeast Asia by market size in 2024, Tan said.

Burgeoning technology and new business models have revealed shortcomings in the regulatory framework, including fragmentation and inconsistent application.

Meanwhile, the private sector, which contributes around 50 percent of GDP, has an urgent need for an e-commerce regulatory framework to leverage online sales and enhance competitiveness, Tan said.

Tan also pointed out that countries such as China, Malaysia, the Philippines and Cambodia had introduced e-commerce laws. The US had issued an e-commerce directive. Japan and South Korea had separate laws on protecting online consumers.

Passing the law on e-commerce had become a pressing issue, Tan said.

According to the Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic and Financial Committee Phan Van Mai, to better protect consumers, e-commerce management should not rely solely on the law. Instead, a comprehensive legal framework and stronger enforcement are required.

Mai urged that reviews be carried out to prevent overlaps and inconsistencies, or to avoid additional administrative procedures, in the draft law.

Chairman of the Ethnic Council Lam Van Man urged stronger policies to develop digital and e-commerce infrastructure in remote, border, island and ethnic minority areas.

The law on e-commerce should encourage entrepreneurship, innovation and private-sector participation, Man said.

The Viet Nam News