National Assembly discusses Law on E-commerce: Tightly control livestream sales activities

(Chinhphu.vn) - On the afternoon of November 13, continuing the 10th session, the National Assembly discussed in the hall the draft Law on E-commerce (amended). Many delegates highly appreciated the development of the draft Law in the context of e-commerce activities developing rapidly, widely, and strongly impacting all areas of life.

Delegate Hoang Thi Thanh Thuy ( Tay Ninh Delegation) gave her opinion in the discussion.

Delegates also gave many in-depth analysis opinions to perfect the legal framework, ensuring the healthy and sustainable development of e-commerce in the digital age.

Delegate Hoang Thi Thanh Thuy (Tay Ninh Delegation) said that one of the current pressing issues is the situation of livestreamers, especially famous people, advertising falsely, selling poor quality products, or avoiding responsibility when there are complaints from consumers.

According to the delegate, the provisions from Article 20 to Article 22 of the draft Law have relatively fully defined the responsibilities of the three main entities in livestream sales activities, including sellers, livestreamers and platforms. However, some gaps still need to be clarified to ensure feasibility.

Firstly, the obligation not to provide false information is a new principle, and there is no pre-broadcast control mechanism for products that pose a risk to public health.

Second, the regulation of storing livestream data for at least one year is not enough to handle long-standing disputes; the draft also does not clearly state consumers' rights to access recordings and the platform's responsibility to provide data.

Third, there are no separate regulations for handling cases where livestreamers provide information that exceeds the licensed advertising content, nor is there clarity about the joint responsibility between livestreamers and sellers.

Fourth, e-commerce platforms are currently only obligated to remove infringing content, and do not have a mechanism to control algorithms that recommend displaying livestreams – a factor that can easily create a “virtual crowd effect”.

Based on that reality, delegate Hoang Thi Thanh Thuy proposed adding 5 groups of solutions to complete the draft. These are: Having a pre-broadcast control mechanism for products that affect health; clarifying the joint responsibility of livestreamers, applying additional handling measures such as banning livestreaming for a certain period of time.

At the same time, extend the minimum storage period for livestream data to 2 years, ensure access to data in case of disputes; stipulate the platform's obligation to publicly disclose livestream display criteria, control comments, and warn when there are unusual interactions; classify livestreamers with great influence or high revenue to apply a stricter management mechanism.

Regarding regulations on foreign e-commerce platforms, delegate Hoang Thi Thanh Thuy also emphasized that the draft has initially established a legal framework for foreign e-commerce platforms, requiring them to register to operate in Vietnam, have a domestic legal representative, and deposit funds to ensure compensation in case of violations.

However, to avoid arbitrary application in practice, delegates suggested that the draft should add a principle to determine the “presence threshold” in the Vietnamese market to trigger obligations for cross-border platforms. Criteria could include revenue, number of transactions, total transaction value or number of regular users in Vietnam.

In addition, the deposit mechanism must be transparent, commensurate with the level of risk, and avoid becoming a technical barrier to the participation of foreign platforms, especially in the context of Vietnam joining CPTPP, EVFTA and opening the digital services market.

The National Assembly discussed in the hall the draft Law on E-commerce.

Delegate Nguyen Thi Viet Nga ( Hai Phong Delegation) expressed concern about the situation of children and minors easily accessing livestream sales sessions, while many contents and products are inappropriate or even harmful.

Delegates proposed adding regulations requiring platforms to classify livestream content by age, display warnings when there are sensitive or dangerous elements, and require sellers to choose a mode appropriate for the age group allowed to access. When livestreams are found to violate public morality or negatively affect children, platforms must promptly coordinate with management agencies to remove them.

According to delegate Nguyen Thi Viet Nga, the draft does not yet specify the form and time limit for implementing requests to remove or block infringing content from competent authorities. The lack of clarity may lead to inconsistent implementation and cause difficulties for both management agencies and businesses.

Therefore, it is necessary to specify the form of request in writing or electronic authentication, along with the implementation deadline to ensure transparency and feasibility in practice.

Thu Giang

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/quoc-hoi-thao-luan-luat-thuong-mai-dien-tu-kiem-soat-chat-hoat-dong-livestream-ban-hang-102251113184833068.htm