924Another wave is rising in the cross-border e-commerce circle!
The Russian government recently approved a major draft bill targeting digital intermediary platforms, and an unprecedented wave of strict regulation is sweeping across this e-commerce hotspot.
Image source: объясняем
The new regulations strike hard, sellers and platforms face a “tightening curse”
The core of the new bill is aimed directly at platform operation transparency and consumer rights protection. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko stated forcefully that the new regulations will establish the basic rules for digital platform operations:
1. Real-name registration for sellers implemented: All marketplace sellers must undergo strict identity verification through national registration agencies, eliminating “ghost sellers” at the source.
2. Mandatory transparency of contract terms: Platforms must ensure that contract terms signed with sellers are clear and transparent, eliminating gray areas.
3. Platform responsibility reinforced: Platforms can no longer claim to be merely “neutral marketplaces”; the new regulations will clarify their key responsibilities in transaction disputes and consumer protection.
Image source: google
These measures are not without reason. Russia’s e-commerce market has surged in recent years. According to analysis company BusinesStat, market spending in 2024 is expected to reach 8.6 trillion rubles, a year-on-year increase of 42%. The Deputy Prime Minister admitted in April that “over 50% of trade has moved online.” However, beneath the prosperity, problems such as counterfeiting and after-sales disputes are becoming increasingly prominent.
Some consumers have experienced a “rights protection marathon”: after buying a fake phone on a well-known platform and returning it, the seller flatly denied receiving the return, forcing the consumer to spend two months providing surveillance footage to finally defend their rights. “If the platform didn’t position itself as a mere ‘intermediary,’ this might have been avoided.” The consumer’s helplessness reveals the widespread dilemma caused by regulatory gaps. The introduction of the new bill is precisely to put an end to such chaos.
Image source: tadviser
Global resonance: strict e-commerce regulation becomes an international trend
Russia is not alone. Globally, emerging e-commerce markets are collectively bidding farewell to “barbaric growth” and entering an era of strict regulation:
Vietnam: Iron-fisted crackdown on counterfeits, platform “gatekeeper” responsibility implemented! The shocking statement by the chairman of the Vietnam E-commerce Association that “only 2% of platform goods are compliant” shook the industry. Immediately, the Ministry of Industry and Trade took strong action, clarifying that e-commerce platforms must bear core responsibility for product quality control—mandatory removal of non-compliant goods, expulsion of bad sellers, and strict prevention of their “reincarnation” under new identities. The results in the first half of 2024 were impressive: over 33,000 non-compliant products removed and 11,000 non-compliant stores dealt with.
Image source: thanhnien
India: Targeting monopoly by giants, maintaining fair competition! Indian law enforcement agencies launched surprise investigations into Flipkart and Amazon, questioning whether they favor related sellers through algorithms (such as manipulating search result rankings), squeezing the living space of small and medium sellers, and undermining market fairness. Although the giants claim compliance, the sword of regulation is already hanging high.
Image source: techopedia
The tide of the times is irreversible: compliance is the only way out
The introduction of Russia’s new bill, together with the thunderous actions of Vietnam and India, sends an unmistakably clear signal: the “wild west dividend period” of global cross-border e-commerce is over.
For consumers: strict regulation is a filter that separates the wheat from the chaff. Problems such as counterfeiting, fraud, and lack of after-sales service will be greatly reduced, and overall consumer safety and experience will see a qualitative leap.
For sellers: rules are being reshaped and compliance costs are rising, but this also means a more transparent and orderly competitive environment. Sellers who rely on gray operations and loopholes will be ruthlessly eliminated. Only by proactively embracing change, prioritizing product compliance, honest operations, and consumer rights, can one win the future in the era of strict regulation.
The regulatory storm has arrived, and the global e-commerce market is undergoing a profound reshuffle. Whether platform or seller, only by conforming to the trend of compliance and rooting themselves in the soil of transparency and integrity can they remain invincible in this era of change.
Russia’s heavy-handed approach is just the beginning.
