Protecting consumers from risks in the digital space

Protecting consumers from risks in the digital space

Data from the National Competition Commission under the Ministry of Industry and Trade indicates that e-commerce is currently the sector generating the highest number of consumer complaints and reports.

Consumers increasingly face risks ranging from counterfeit goods and misleading marketing practices to personal data misuse and online fraud. — VNA/VNS Photo

The rapid expansion of e-commerce has transformed the way people buy and sell goods, offering unprecedented convenience and access to markets. Yet as digital transactions become an integral part of daily life, ensuring the protection of consumer rights has emerged as a pressing challenge. 

Consumers increasingly face risks ranging from counterfeit goods and misleading marketing practices to personal data misuse and online fraud.

Against this backdrop, strengthening consumer protection frameworks is essential. Beyond safeguarding the legitimate interests of buyers, robust protections help build public trust in digital commerce, creating the conditions necessary for a transparent, secure and sustainable e-commerce ecosystem.

According to experts, e-commerce has opened up broader market access for businesses and provided consumers with more choices. However, unlike traditional transactions, most purchasing decisions in the digital environment are based solely on information displayed on screens, ranging from product images and promotional videos to reviews from other users.

This characteristic widens the information gap between sellers and buyers. Consumers often have limited opportunities to verify the actual quality of products before delivery, while identifying sellers or tracing responsibility when disputes arise is not always straightforward.

Data from the National Competition Commission under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) indicates that e-commerce is currently the sector generating the highest number of consumer complaints and reports. 

Common issues include products that do not match descriptions, poor-quality goods, misleading advertisements, delayed refunds, difficulties in returns and exchanges, and personal data leaks.

Vũ Văn Trung, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Consumers Protection Association, said the rapid growth of e-commerce is creating new challenges for consumer protection. 

In the past, most transactions took place face-to-face, allowing buyers to check products and clearly identify sellers. Today, many transactions occur entirely online, where consumers find it harder to verify information and are more vulnerable to fraudulent activities.

Trung noted that the most concerning issues are not just counterfeit products or false advertising, but the growing risk of personal data breaches and increasingly sophisticated cyber fraud schemes. 

Without effective protection mechanisms, consumers could remain in a weaker position in online transactions, he added.

E-commerce law reinforces consumer rights

The rise in online transactions is also creating a need to transform e-commerce governance. While regulatory authorities previously focused primarily on addressing violations after they occurred, technological advances now make it necessary to establish preventive risk-management mechanisms from the outset.

The digital environment is characterised by openness, rapid information dissemination and the participation of a wide range of actors, from small individual sellers to cross-border platforms, said Lê Thị Hà, head of the E-commerce Management Division at the MoIT’s Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency. 

As a result, management can no longer rely solely on traditional administrative measures, but must increasingly leverage data, technology and inter-agency cooperation, she added.

The E-commerce Law, scheduled to take effect on July 1 this year, is expected to bring significant improvements to consumer protection efforts. 

One of its key novel provisions is the increased responsibility imposed on e-commerce platforms regarding seller activities within their ecosystems.

Whereas marketplaces previously functioned mainly as intermediaries, platforms will now be required to verify seller identities, retain transaction data, cooperate with regulatory authorities and address violations.

This is considered an important shift in regulatory thinking. Rather than leaving consumers to seek justice after their rights have been infringed upon, the legal framework is moving towards early risk prevention and a more balanced allocation of responsibilities among market participants.

Experience from many countries shows that an e-commerce market can only achieve long-term growth when consumer trust is maintained. Trung emphasised that consumer protection today must be approached through three dimensions: improving legal frameworks, applying technology and enhancing corporate responsibility. 

In particular, establishing a national consumer protection database, developing online complaint-handling systems and strengthening data connectivity between regulatory agencies and e-commerce platforms will play especially important roles.

From a business perspective, many sellers also believe that stricter regulations on information transparency and seller verification will contribute to a healthier business environment.

Cao Trung Hiếu, owner of a cosmetics store on an e-commerce platform in Hà Nội, stated that legitimate businesses often suffer the presence of products with unclear origins and unfair competition practices. 

Stronger regulation not only protect consumers, but also help create a level playing field for honest businesses, he said.

Experts said that consumer protection in e-commerce is no longer solely the responsibility of regulators or individual online shoppers. It is an essential requirement for building a transparent, safe and sustainable market. 

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