Transparency of e-commerce environment

The strong development of e-commerce has promoted the digital economy and brought many benefits to consumers. However, along with the conveniences are a series of challenges related to consumer rights. Therefore, to ensure a transparent e-commerce environment, there needs to be synchronous coordination between management agencies, businesses and consumers.

E-commerce environment needs to be transparent to protect consumers. (Photo: KIM DUNG)

Many violations of consumer rights

According to data from the Competition Authority and Consumer protection (Ministry of Industry and Trade), the number of complaints related to e-commerce has increased sharply in recent years. Common problems include counterfeit goods, poor quality goods, incorrect delivery commitments, difficulties in returns and online fraud.

On e-commerce platforms, it is not difficult to find products with prices significantly different from market prices, accompanied by unclear information about their origin.

Dr. Nguyen Manh Hung, former Chairman of the Vietnam Consumer Protection Association, commented: “Many sellers deliberately take advantage of loopholes in the inspection process to bring poor quality products to the market. This not only causes damage to consumers but also destroys trust in e-commerce.”

In addition to counterfeit goods, fraud through virtual promotions and false advertising is also at an alarming level. Currently, many scammers are taking advantage of social networking platforms to sell fake and counterfeit goods in the form of livestreams or advertisements. Without strict control, consumers can easily fall into the trap.

Although e-commerce platforms have implemented return policies, many customers still encounter difficulties in the complaint process.

According to Dr. Can Van Luc, an economic expert, “The consumer protection system on e-commerce platforms still has some limitations. In many cases, consumers have to collect evidence and confront sellers without adequate support from the platform.”

The exposure of personal information is also one of the biggest risks when shopping online. Consumer data is becoming a target for many bad actors. Without strict privacy policies, consumer privacy will continue to be seriously violated.

Perfecting the legal framework and defining the responsibilities of e-commerce platforms

To address the above shortcomings, a representative of the Market Management Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) said that there needs to be close coordination between management agencies, businesses and consumers; It is necessary to amend and supplement legal regulations on e-commerce, especially strict sanctions for fraudulent acts. Authorities need to strengthen inspections and publicize the list of violating organizations and individuals to keep consumers vigilant.

Tighter control over restaurants, requiring documents proving the origin of products; improving consumer protection policies, improving the quality of complaint support services; applying AI technology and big data to detect and prevent fraudulent behavior. At the same time, consumers also need to improve their awareness and skills, choose to buy from reputable stores with high ratings from previous customers; carefully check product information before buying, avoid being attracted by unusually low prices; limit providing personal information to websites of unknown origin; immediately report to authorities if fraudulent behavior is detected.

In particular, in the context of cross-border e-commerce development, Vietnam needs to promote cooperation with countries in the region to build common standards on consumer protection.

Protecting consumer rights in e-commerce is not only the responsibility of management agencies or businesses, but also requires initiative from consumers. When each party fulfills its responsibilities, e-commerce will develop in a transparent, sustainable direction and truly benefit society.

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