A livestream session on TikTok. It is critical for Việt Nam to implement marketplace identity verification to prevent frauds and protect the legitimate rights of consumers. — VNA/VNS Photo Trần Việt

HÀ NỘI — It is critical for Việt Nam to implement marketplace identity verification to prevent fraud and protect the legitimate rights of consumers as e-commerce becomes a pillar in the digital economy, experts have said.

Lê Triệu Dũng, Chairman of the National Competition Commission under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that the commission has received a number of complaints related to product quality, service quality, false advertising and fraud on online marketplaces.

Statistics from the Việt Nam e-Commerce Association show that there are about 2.5 million livestream sessions per month, with the participation of more than 50,000 sellers. As e-commerce grows, online fraud becomes more of an issue.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has recently warned about risks when consumers shop via unregistered cross-border e-commerce platforms such as Temu, Shein and 1688.

A survey conducted by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) of 1,000 people in each ASEAN country found that up to 88 per cent of consumers saw counterfeits in the market and 70 per cent accidentally bought fake products. In particular, one in every four consumers knew that the product was not authentic.

As fraud becomes increasingly complicated, it is necessary to implement seller identity verification to prevent it.

Lê Đức Anh, Director of the Centre of Information and Digital Technology, said that technology should be applied to verify the identities of sellers and buyers as well as product origin tracing to prevent fraud.

Experts also said that e-commerce platforms need to enhance transparency and efficiency in their operations to more easily resolve violations.

In addition, e-commerce platforms must be responsible for protecting intellectual property rights as well as legitimate rights of consumers by enhancing their accountability in approving product postings.

In late November, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính issued Official Dispatch No 119/CĐ-TTg on strengthening the management of e-commerce. — VNS