In late June 2024, the Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living, Datuk Seri Armizan Mohd Ali, disclosed that the existing laws relating to e-commerce are undergoing review with completion expected by mid-2025.
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The objective of the review, the Minister added, is to introduce a more comprehensive legal framework that is suited to current demands and technological developments. This framework is intended to afford better protection to consumers and encourage greater use of e-commerce platforms.
The Minister elaborated that the review had started in May 2024 and is being undertaken in collaboration with a team of consultants. The Minister identified three laws that are under the purview of his ministry, namely the Electronic Commerce Act 2006, the Consumer Protection Act 1999 and the Consumer Protection (Electronic Trade Transactions) Regulations 2012.
Datuk Seri Armizan also shared that the team has been given “
a timeline of a year to review and conduct engagement sessions with all stakeholders including the business community under ecommerce such as the (e-commerce) platform and others” and “
are expected to present their findings whether there is a need to create a new law or amend the existing laws.”
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As readers may be aware, the Consumer Credit Oversight Board Task Force (“
CCOB Task Force”), led by the Ministry of Finance, Bank Negara Malaysia and the Securities Commission Malaysia, is in the midst of an extensive review of Malaysia’s consumer credit laws with the view to introducing a comprehensive consumer credit legal framework. As the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living is represented on the CCOB Task Force, it is essential to ensure that the changes proposed by the Ministry are aligned with those of the CCOB Task Force’s insofar as they relate to providing greater protection to users of e-commerce platforms.
Following the completion of the review, it will be interesting to see whether the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living will recommend a soft or a hard reset of the country’s e-commerce laws.
Alert by Natalie Lim (Partner) and Beatrice Yew (Senior Associate) of the Intellectual Property Practice of Skrine.